A NaruSaku's Spirited Away 2
by Narusaku1357
Summary: Once again Sakura finds herself in the spirit world only to find more danger then last time. Naruto also returns as his older but still goofy self, Along with Sasuke who wants a bigger role in the story. Confused...who will Sakura decide she loves?
1. Prologue

"We're almost there."

A small pink haired girl glanced over to her mother and saw that she was looking out the window. The little girl thought that she'd do this as well. She looked out the window and saw them drive over a bridge. Below there was a river. A very pretty one at that. "Where are we going again mommy?" She then asked as she sat back down.

"We're going to the Whirlpool Country." Her mother answered. The small pinkette sat up a little more and saw that there were many old fashion buildings ahead. "It's such a fascinating place…" Her mother then said; still looking out the window.

"It looks really old…." The little girl muttered as she slouched again. It did look old. The buildings looked VERY old and some of the people even looked old.

Her mother sighed and looked over to her daughter. "Sakura…it's a GOOD old." She told her. "It means it's historical." Sakura eyed her with a pouting look then closed her eyes. "Alright…whatever….you sleep. I'll wake you up when we get there." Her mother then said as she faced back forward.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Get Up Sakura! We're here!"

Sakura slowly opened her eyes and saw that her mother was trying to wake her up. There was a building outside of the door and just like the rest of the buildings…..it looked old. "Is this where we're staying?" She asked as she jumped out of the car. Her mother nodded and shut the door after her.

The door opened and a woman appeared right after her father knocked. Her smile was large as she looked over her shoulder to shout. "The Haruno's are here!" She yelled into the home. She then turned around and said welcome, before letting them in.

They talked for a long time, and It kind of annoyed the little girl. They talked about the whirlpool in town square and a bunch of other things. Sakura looked over her shoulder and glared at the woman talking with her mother. Apparently they were friends in high school.

"The whirlpool sounds beautiful….I'd love to go see it."

"You can If you want but it's dangerous."

"How so?"

"If you fall in, you could get sucked under and drown."

"Oh my…..has anyone fallen in?"

"Not yet…..but we're all crossing our fingers and hoping no one does."

Sakura laughed. That wasn't possible. Crossing your fingers and hoping something wont happen doesn't mean it wont happen. She stood up and walked into the living room to get her mothers attention. "Mommy…are we going to walk around or anything?" She asked as she pulled on her mother's dress. Mrs. Haruno looked down and smiled at her daughter.

"Yes dear." She said. "We were just about to leave for towns square." She looked at her friend after a pat on Sakura's head. "That's where most of the shops and landmarks are right." Her mother then asked her friend.

"Yes it is." Her friend answered. "There are restaurants and a museum too." Then she set her hand down from playing with her long brown bangs. "And the whirlpool is in the middle."

"What is this place?" Sakura asked. "Some kind of tourist attraction?" She then said as she looked at her mother. She was right. There were restaurants and a museum. What was that all about?

"No it's not" Her mother answered after a slight laugh. "It's just a really old place. And they aren't ALL restaurants. Plus I think the whirlpool is a little dangerous for tourist." She and her friend both laughed a bit.

"How old is she?" Her friend asked after finishing her little giggle. "She's so cute." She then said.

"She's 6 years old and she'll be 7 in March." Her mother answered. She patted the 6 year old on the head. "Oh…By the way…how to you protect children when they go to town square? Surly the small kids are a little curious about the whirlpool right?"

Her friend nodded with a smile. "Yes that's true but the whirlpool citizens here are all aware of how dangerous it is." She answered. Apparently she wasn't an official citizen. "This part of whirlpool may I add is Uzumaki territory. So that's why I say the Uzumaki make sure that their children know the rules of the whirlpool in town square."

Mrs. Haruno nodded. From what Sakura found out was that her friend here moved to the Whirlpool with her husband a long time ago and have been living among the Uzumaki clan since. Was her husband an Uzumaki? "Alright, let's go. Tell your husband I said hello." Mrs. Haruno said as she stood up. Her friend nodded and they were all out the door to look around.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

They soon arrived to town square. There weren't many people but still a lot. As they walked, Sakura could see the whirlpool in the middle. It had a special blue kind of glow to it. It was really pretty. People were standing at its edge and seemed to be praying, before walking away with their children. Then she spotted an ice cream shop.

"Mom!" She yelled as she pulled on her mother's arm. "Mom! Ice cream! Can I have some please! Please! Please!" She kept yelling and pointing to the ice cream shop until finally her mother stopped. She asked her husband for something and he gave her some money. Then she turned around and knelt down.

"Alright, here you go." Her mother said as she handed her the money. "But don't go too close to the whirlpool, I don't want you falling in." She then said. Sakura nodded and took the money.

"Thank you mommy" The pink haired girl then said before running off. She ran over to the shop; going around the whirlpool first, and go in line. It was long but she could wait. She looked forward and saw a few people at the front getting their ice cream and then behind them there was a blonde boy, behind him there….well was a lot more people. She sighed…..

*

The blonde boy waited for his turn in patience. But he couldn't help but look around. His blue eyes drifted to the end of the line and he spotted a head of pink hair. She was very far in the back and to him….was very pretty. His whiskered cheeks turned pink as he looked back forward. 'It might be a long time until she finally gets up here…' He then thought.

"Next"

The blonde looked up and saw the ice cream man smiling down at him. "Oh…sorry…" He walked over and pointed to a flavor. "Chocolate please." He said to the man.

"How many?"

The man asked this as he got his spoon out. Then the blonde thought about the pink haired girl at the back of the line. "Um…2 please." He said to him. The man nodded and got 2 cones out. Then when he was finished, the blonde boy gave him the money and he gave him the 2 ice cream cones. Turning around with a blush on his face, the blonde made his way over to the girl.

***** *** * ***

"Here…."

Sakura looked to her left and saw a blonde boy holding out a chocolate ice cream to her. He had spiky hair and his eyes were a really pretty blue. He had birthmarks on his cheeks that looked like whiskers too and he seemed to be blushing. "Thank you…." She said as she took the ice cream. He nodded and started walking away. "You know…" The pink haired girl then said as she felt herself following him. "You didn't have to get me one."

"Yea I know…" He said to her. "I ju-just thought I should since you were at the end of the line and I was like…..at the beginning…" He slightly giggled and then stopped. His face was as red as the woman's hair by the stand behind him.

"My name's Sakura Haruno by the way…" Sakura said with her hand out "And I'm 6 years old" The boy's eyes widened slightly. Apparently he's never seen a person from a different clan before. Poor boy…he must be stuck in here until he's old enough to leave and explore.

"N-Naruto…" He said as he held out his hand and shook hers with a blushing face "And I'm…6 too." He was probably too nervous to say his last name, but she figured it was Uzumaki just like the rest of the clan. "I-It's nice to meet you." He then said.

"Naruto! Where are you?!"

The blonde opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder to look at the woman with the long red hair. "Coming Mommy!" Naruto then yelled. Sakura saw the woman look over and smile before waving. Then she walked over while the blonde looked at the pink haired girl again. "Maybe I'll see you again." He said with a slight giggle. "Will you still be here tomorrow?"

"Yep." Sakura answered. "My mom and Dad have a lot of sightseeing to do so I'll be here tomorrow. The red haired woman bent over and set a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Who's this Naruto?" She asked as the blonde boy looked at her. "Is this your new girlfriend?" She then asked with a laugh.

"Mom!!"

The red-head laughed and then smiled to the pinkette. "Hi there." She said. "My name is Kushina, I'm Naruto-kun's mommy." Her voice was childish and fun. Sakura liked her. She was almost jealous of the blonde Uzumaki boy. Her mom wasn't that fun.

"Sakura Haruno.."

"A Haruno…" Kushina muttered as a blonde man walked over. "I knew you weren't from around here." She then said. The blonde man held out a dango in front of her face and she stood up. "Oh…Minato-kun…look…" She pointed to Sakura with a grin. "Naruto-kun has a girl friend." She then whispered. But Naruto heard.

"Mom!!"

Sakura laughed as he turned every shade of red you could possibly imagine. The man known as Minato laughed. "That's my boy." He then said as he patted the smaller blonde on the head. "Not even married yet and he already has a girlfriend!" He and Kushina both laughed a little more, then she reached down and grabbed Naruto's hand.

"Common Naruto…you know we were only joking around." Kushina told him. "Now let's go. You can see her tomorrow." They started walking away and the blonde boy had no choice but to follow. He waved at Sakura and she waved back and they were soon gone.

"Bye!" Sakura yelled. Then she turned around and found her parents. After a day of shopping and a nice lunch, they went back to her mother's friends house. They had dinner and then all went to bed. Sakura couldn't stop thinking about the little boy she met though. He was just so….cute.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning Sakura ran down the stairs still in her PJ's. She ran over to the kitchen and tugged on her mother's robe. "Mom! Are we going back out?!" She asked in a yelling pitch. Her father cringed at this. Sakura guessed he was still asleep even though he was up.

"Yes….yes…later." Her mother said before taking a sip of her coffee. "I didn't finish my shopping, so we'll be going out later." Mr. Haruno smacked his head on the table making everyone look at him. Then they started laughing. "Oh dear….you don't have to come…"

Sakura took the moment to run back upstairs and get dressed. She cleaned up a little more then she usually does. She brushed her teeth extra long and brushed her hair till she could run her fingers through it with no problem. She put on one of her dresses and looked at herself in the long mirror. For a 6 year old, she was really excited and she never felt so pretty in her life. It was the boy….the boy known as Naruto did this to her. He must be some kind of hypnotizer and manipulated her into doing this.

She ran back downstairs and saw that her parents were still in their robes and drinking coffee. "Mommy! Daddy! I thought you said we could go!" The pinkette yelled as she ran over. Her father cringed again.

"How about this." Her mother said as she grabbed a pen off the table. She stood up and walked over to a desk. "I'll let you go on your own and we'll catch up with you later." She walked back over with a folded piece of paper. Then she handed Sakura her phone. "I wrote down Daddy's number and Akini's number. If you need us, call one of them."

Sakura nodded. She figured Akini was her mom's friend. "K I will." She said as she took the paper. She stuck it in the dresses pocket and turned around. She ran over to the door and opened it before leaving. She was excited to see him. She only hopped he was out there and waiting for her. It was her turn to blush….

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

When Sakura arrived at town's square she looked around and tried to see if she could spot the blonde boy. The wind picked up and tossed her hair around, making it a little knotty. 'Darn it…' She thought as she tried to keep her hair from tossing around more. Her little blue dress was tossing around too. 'Maybe he's not here…' The pink haired girl then thought. Sakura sighed and took out the phone and paper….

** *** *** * ***

"Why are you in such a hurry Naruto-kun?" Kushina asked as the small blonde pulled her across town. Minato was behind them and seemed to be looking at a catalogue of homes.

"Oooo…look at this one Kushina…" He said as he walked a little faster to catch up. "After we get married…how bout we get this one?" He pointed to a house and she looked.

"That one is quite lovely." She said with a smile. "Show Naruto-kun." She then said as she pointed to the determined blonde. "See if he likes it." Minato nodded and walked faster. Then he held the paper down in front of his sons face. "What do you think dear?" Kushina asked as the blonde boy stopped.

"Yeah…yeah…" Naruto muttered before running off. "See ya later!" He then yelled. Kushina and Minato both watched their son run off with raised brows.

"What's gotten into that boy?"

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Naruto reached the town's square and looked around. He really wanted to see her again. He bit his lip and looked at the whirlpool. No one was near it that looked like her. He looked over by the ice cream shop to his left and saw a girl in a blue dress. 'Is that her?' The blonde thought. He watched her pull out a piece of paper and a phone.

Then the wind blew the paper from her hand.

** *** *** * ***

"Hey…" Sakura reached up and tried to grab the paper. "I need that!" She jumped around and chased it. No one seemed to notice and grab the paper for her. She chased it all the way over to the whirlpool and stopped. It landed on the top of the water far enough away from the pull of the middle's current. 'Stay cool Sakura…' She thought as she got on her knees.

She reached her hand out and tried to grab the piece of paper. Her finger touched it, but then it floated away. 'No….come back…' She thought as she reached a little more. Then her hand slipped and she fell in with a yelp.

** *** *** * ***

Naruto's eyes widened and he ran over as fast as he could. His parents were just behind him and saw the whole thing as well. "That was that girl!" Kushina gasp. Minato nodded and then noticed that their son went after her.

"Naruto!"

Naruto didn't hear his father yell for him. He ran up to the side of the whirlpool and got on his knees and grabbed the hand that was still holding on to the edge. "Don't worry Sakura-Chan! I'll pull you up!" He yelled as he started pulling. People were now looking over and were all covering their mouths in surprise and horror. He pulled her up and turned his body to get her up all the way. Then when he went to stand up and help her up, his left foot slipped inside and he fell in himself.

** *** *** * ***

Sakura coughed as her hair dripped with water. She looked up and looked at the whirlpool after hearing many people gasp. As she looked she saw another person disappear under. "What? No!" She crawled over and reached inside the water hoping she could get a hand or an arm. She opened her eyes and saw that a hand grabbed her arm.

It was him. The boy she met yesterday. He was being pulled under and she wasn't that strong. She didn't know if she'd be able to pull him up. 'Hold on Naruto-kun….' The pink haired girl thought as she tried to pull him up. But the force of the current was stronger then her. Sakura saw him smile slightly and before she knew it; he let go. She screamed underneath the water as his face disappeared into the depths and then someone grabbed her and pulled her out.

It was Minato. Naruto's father….

"Naruto!!!" Kushina screamed into the whirlpool. Minato asked Sakura over and over if she was ok. But the pink haired girl kept telling him that she was fine and that Naruto had drowned. He only told her he knew his son was gone and all that mattered was if she was ok. But Kushina on the other hand had a whole different attitude on the situation. "NARUTO!!!!!" She cried. People that she knew came over and tried to comfort her until Minato finally did.

"Sakura!"

The soaked pinkette looked over to her right and saw her mother running over as fast as she could. She hugged the little girl with all the strength she could deliver. "Sakura! What happened? Why are you all wet?! What's going on?! Why is that woman crying?!"

Sakura looked around in a daze. It all happened so fast. Everything was fine one moment and now the boy she liked…..was dead. "Mommy…." She started as her eyes started to tear up. "I met this boy yesterday…" She looked at Kushina, who was crying in Minato's arms. "And today….he saved me…but….he fell in too." She then said as she pointed to the whirlpool.

"He drowned?" Her mother asked as she looked at the spinning water. Sakura nodded and Mrs. Haruno looked at her husband. "We should speak with his parents.…since it is Sakura's fault." Sakura's heart skipped a beat. It WAS her fault. Her fault that this boy died. She stood up and ran off after a few moments. "Sakura!" Her mother called, but the pink haired girl didn't listen. She only ran back to Akini's house….crying.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hours later Mrs. Haruno and Mr. Haruno came back to Akini's house and saw that she was trying to comfort the small crying girl. "She's still crying?" Her mother asked as she set a bag down. Akini nodded and kept rubbing Sakura's back.

"She told me about the whole thing." Akini told her after. "She told me about the boy, the ice cream and the whirlpool…." Her green eyes softened and she looked at her long time friend. "I think it would be best if you guys left. It might help her."

Mrs. Haruno nodded and took out a paper. "We spoke to the boy's parents for a while and got their numbers and the address of their new home." She said. "We might go visit them and give them a little company every once in awhile." Akini nodded and looked at Sakura. "Sakura dear….are you ready to go home?" Her mother then asked.

The little pink haired girl nodded from behind her knees and dropped her legs. Then she stood up and walked up stairs to get her things. "Who were the parents?" Akini asked after a moment.

"The mother was Kushina Uzumaki and the father was Minato Namikaze." Mrs. Haruno answered. "They weren't married just yet but were planning onto next week." The names bade Akini gasp.

"Kushina-san?" She asked. Mrs. Haruno nodded. "Oh….She's part of the main branch. A main branch heir died!? That's bad! That's very bad!"

"Please calm yourself Akini." Mrs. Haruno said to her friend. "We already had a talk with her ok?" Akini nodded and sat back down on the couch. Sakura came back down the stairs with a very depressed look and her father set a hand on her head.

"Don't worry….you'll forget about it soon." He said to her. This only made her cry even more on their way to the car. Because she knew he was right. She would forget. And she didn't want to. As it drove away she cried silently in the back. She killed a boy….it was her fault. And just like her father said…..She was going to forget all about him…… and move on…..


	2. The Return

Sakura Haruno opened her eyes and looked at her ceiling. She sat up and sighed. Then she looked at her clock. It was 7:00. "Seven o'clock!" Sakura yelped as she jumped off her bed. She ran over to her closet and got dressed in what looked like a work uniform. She then turned around and ran out her door. The pinkette ran down the steps as if she was some athlete in a running down the stairs competition. She grabbed her keys and ran out the door. Being 18 now, she was living alone and had her very own car.

It was brand new. White and shiny with a beautiful silver grille in the front. Black leather seats and surround sound inside. It was her white pickup truck. And to her….it was amazing! "Alright! Let's get to work!" She yelled at it. She carefully got inside and started the ignition before driving off. She drove down the street and was honked at many times. She looked in the rear-view mirror and saw an older looking man looking at her. "Bleh!" She turned away from the mirror and kept driving.

Soon Sakura arrived at a small café and parked. After she jumped out she walked over to the back and grabbed two traffic cones. She put each one in the parking spaces next to her truck and walked inside. "There you are Sakura." A girl with long black hair said from behind a counter.

"Sorry..." Sakura said as she walked over. "I woke up a little late." She grabbed an apron and tied it on. "I had a dream about something that happened to me when I was 6…" She then said.

"Oh…ok" Her fellow employee said. "Alright then….take this coffee to table 3 please." She handed Sakura a mug full of coffee and Sakura took hold of it.

She walked over to a table and set it down. "Here you are." She then said. She went to walk away but stopped. His hair was blonde and his eyes were blue…it was so much like…..

"Hello? Are you ok?"

Sakura blinked and shook her head. "No! Sorry…" She then said. "You just look like someone I used to know." She lightly laughed and walked away. The pink haired girl was embarrassed. 'I can't believe I stared at him like that!' She mentally yelled as she made her way over to another table. "Hi there." She said to the two people. "What would you li—"

There was a crash over by the counter and made Sakura turn back around. "I'M OK!" The black haired girl yelped with her hands in the air. The pinkette giggled and walked over.

"Hinata….you have to be careful" She said to her friend as she started picking up the glass. In Sakura's junior year Hinata had come to her school and they were best friends again. The note she had given her came true and they were always hanging out; they even worked together now. They both had just graduated from high school and have been living on their own. They were thinking about moving in together as roommates.

"Sorry Sakura..." Hinata said with a slight laugh. "I just got a little carried away." She lifted her right foot and took her sandal off. "Do you think you can heal it?" She then asked. Sakura looked at her best friend's foot and saw that a few shards broke the skin. Her foot was bleeding.

The pinkette sighed and looked around. Then she looked back and set both hands on Hinata's foot. They glowed green and the cuts disappeared. "It's so cool that you have that ability…" Hinata said when Sakura finished. "Where did you say you got it again?" She slightly laughed while the pinkette grabbed a towel.

"A river spirit gave it to me." She answered as she wiped the counter. "Like I said….it's hard to believe but it happened." She then said. Hinata nodded and walked over to the coffee machine. She looked over her shoulder and saw a man walk over to Sakura with a bill.

"Here" He said as Sakura took it. She walked over to the register and he followed on the other side of the counter. "Hey…you should come get a cup of coffee with me….you know…when you don't serve it to me." She shut the cash register and gave him his change.

"No thanks I'm taken." She told him. He nodded in sadness and walked away. Sakura gave him a smile before he left and then grabbed a note pad before walking to the other end of the counter.

"You liar" Hinata said with a giggle. Sakura giggled back and walked over to a table to get their order. When she came back the black haired girl stopped her. "Why don't you just finally date someone Sakura?" She asked. "People ask you out every day and you say no each time."

Sakura blinked. Hinata was right. "Yeah but there's someone else…." She muttered as she looked down. Hinata raised a brow and bent over to look at her best friends face.

"Who?"

The pinkette closed her eyes to think. She told Hinata about her trip to the other world but she never told her about the blonde boy she met. His goofy smile never left her memory. But his face….it's been so long that it had disappeared.

"Sakura?"

She looked up. Hinata looked a little concerned. "Oh…nothing, never mind." She then said to her. The black haired girl blinked and sighed. Then the phone rang. "I'll get it." Sakura said before Hinata could do anything else. She picked it up. "Hello, Chimberlane café, this is Sakura speaking how may I help you?"

"Hi hunny! How are you?"

"Oh…mom…hey…yeah im fine you?"

"I'm doing great."

"That's good…"

"Hey….me and your father thought for a little bit and decided to have a little get together."

"O…really? When?"

"Tonight. Come over and I'll make some dinner."

"Alright."

"Ok bye! I love you"

"Bye love you too."

Sakura set the phone down and sighed. Dinner with the parents. This had to be fun. She hadn't seen her parents since she left to go live on her own.

"Who was it?"

Sakura turned around with a smile. "It was my mom." She told her friend. "She asked me to come for dinner so when we close down the café I'll head down there." Hinata nodded and they both started working. It was going to be a long day.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was a long day alright. Sakura was exhausted. After putting the traffic cones back into the back of the truck she drove off. After she moved out, she went to go live in the next town over. So it took her awhile to get there. 'She better cook my favorite meal…or I'm gonna be mad…' She thought as she drove down the freeway.

It took about an hour to get to the town she moved to when she was 12. But when she finally got there she was glad. It wasn't dark yet so she had time to get back down the hill beforehand. She turned right and went up a hill but stopped at another light. 'Damn…I always hated that light…' The pinkette thought.

Her green eyes drifted to the left and spotted a dirt road. They widened. "That's—" A person behind her honked. Sakura came out of her daze after and looked forward. The light had turned green. "Oh! Sorry!" She held her hand up as if the person would see and kept driving.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sakura finally pulled up to a little blue house and sighed as she turned the truck off. 'This is it Sakura….' She then thought as she opened the door. She jumped out of the truck and shut the door. Then as she walked over to the front door, she eyed some kids playing basketball in the neighbor's yard. "Hey! You better not touch my truck or I'll kill you!!" She yelled at them.

"Nice to see you too Sakura-san!" They yelled back. Sakura smiled and knocked on the door. She knew those kids since they were little. The last time she saw them was when she moved out a few months ago.

The door opened and a very happy woman showed her face. "Hi Sakura! Welcome home sweaty." Her mother said before glomping the younger Haruno. Mr. Haruno walked over and joined in on the hug.

"Yeah…home…" Sakura said as she hugged back. Soon after the hug, she was pulled inside for dinner. They had some Yakisoba noodles and Monjya-yaki. Sakura was happy. It was one of her favorite meals, just like she wanted.

"So…" Mrs. Haruno started as Sakura dug into her noodles. The pinkette stopped at looked over. "Do you have any boyfriends?" Sakura nearly spit out the noodles in her mouth and sat up straight.

"No." She answered. "No I don't…." She then said. Her father raised a brow and chuckled a bit, but got smacked in the chest by his wife. "Wh-why?" Sakura then asked.

"look Sakura…" Her mother said as she set her fork down. "I was only wondering…I mean your 18 years old and are still single…and your probably still fantasizing about that boy that died when you were 6….I mean I kept telling you that you must of hit your head when we first moved here…bu—"

"So that's what this is about?!" Sakura yelled to interrupt. "You think I still think he's alive! You think I should move on?! Well Mother let me tell you something!" Sakura stood up after throwing her own fork on the table. "I did see him again! I've been keeping this a secret but that little 'abandoned' theme park was just a part of the spirit world! I really saw him! He was really there!!"

She turned around and started for the door in anger. Her mother stood up and went to call out for her but the slamming of the front door stopped her. Sakura stormed over to her car crying. She had told her parents about that time when she was stuck in the spirit world. For a moment they believed her because it explained the dusty car and the fact the movers were camping out in front of the house, but then when she got to the part of Naruto, they just thought she hit her head and went crazy.

She leaned against her truck and cried a little more. It was a long drive back, but she felt like staying. The kids next door weren't outside so she figured they were either inside their house or hiding in the back of the truck ready to scare her. The pinkette sighed and opened the door before getting in. 'Just forget them Sakura' She told herself as she started the truck. It took a few tries and should have concerned her but she didn't care at the moment.

Sakura drove down the hill and came to a light. It was red so she stopped. 'Of course this light had to be red.' She thought. Then it turned green and she pushed on the gas. But nothing happened. "Say what!" She looked down as the truck shut off and saw that the gas had run out. "DAMN IT!" The pinkette threw a fist into the horn making it honk. Her hair was now tossed and in her face as she leaned back in the seat. 'The next gas station is in the next town over…..'

"MOVE!!"

Sakura opened her eyes and got out of the truck as people honked at her. She pulled down the bed's door and stood onto it before turning around. "My truck ran out of gas!!" She yelled at the honking cars. "If you want to keep going!!! Drive AROUND!!" She pointed out the empty lane next to her and they all started going around. "God!" She threw herself into a sitting position with her legs hanging off the edge and pouted. 'Just my luck….'

She sighed and jumped off. Then she closed the bed door. "Might as well call Hinata and ask her to come with some extra gas…" She mumbled as she walked around the truck. She took out a cell phone and sat on a rock. Then she dialed a number and set it up to her ear. Her green eyes drifted over to the dirt road and she dropped her hand.

"Hello?" The phone went. Sakura's eyes staid put on the road. "Hello? Sakura? Is there something wrong?" Hinata asked again. The pinkette slowly stood up and put the phone against her ear again.

"Never mind…"

She shut the phone right after and set it in her pocket. Sakura felt herself slowly walking towards the dirt road. She couldn't keep herself away from it. When the pink haired girl reached it, she looked at the small shrines and she walked by. She remembered her mother telling her what they were. She then looked at a wooden cross next to them. She stopped and smiled at it.

After she left the spirit world Sakura made it and set it in the ground next to the small shrines. It was a day after school when she was walking. The pinkette decided to make it for that boy. She reached her hands out and swept it across the wood as she started up the dirt road again.

It took a bit longer on foot then it did when they were in the car but Sakura finally made it to the tunnel and passed the stone monkey. "Hey there…" She muttered as her hand ran on the top of the stone. Her smile got larger as she walked through the tunnel. When she finally came through the train station like building looked the same. But it didn't stop her. She only kept going.

The breeze of the field felt nice. Sakura could smell the flowers that had grown since last time. "I wonder…." She mumbled as she started walking. "I wonder if anything's changed at all…" The pinkette then walked up the hill and saw the tiny village of restaurants in the distance. Her smile grew.

Sakura closed her green eyes thinking that she was dreaming. She was actually back here and was about to walk into the spirit world once again. Then when she opened them again she pulled out her phone and called Hinata. But unfortunately there was a voice message box waiting for her. "Hey Hinata….um…It's me Sakura…I'm not gonna come to work for a long time…" She said into it. "I think I found a job…a better one that will pay more….so I'll see you some other time."

Sakura shut the phone and started jogging over to the small village. Sure she wasn't paid last time put she had no bills to pay while she lived here so everything checked out. She jumped across the Rock River and ran up the steps. "Now…which way was the bathhouse?" The pinkette asked as she looked around. She had forgotten….

The sky was getting a bit darker as she made her way around. Soon Sakura came up some stairs and looked to her right. The bridge that led to the bathhouse was right there. She was now shaking in excitement. The pink haired girl walked onto the bridge and looked left. Maybe if she did what she did last time she'd see him again.

Sakura took a deep breath and looked over the edge of the bridge. Then she waited. The sky grew darker and darker by the minute. 'Please work…' She thought as she gripped the rail. She looked right and saw no one there. "But….he's supposed to be right there….right?" Then the lamps turned on, but no one showed up. Sakura then sighed in sadness.

A girl in a kimono walked out of the bathhouse entrance saying something to a few people before looking at the bridge. She saw Sakura and her eyes widened slightly. "Um…." She started as she lifted her finger. She saw the pink haired girl look at one of the black spirits on the road and wave before going back to look at the sky. "Um…excuse me."

Sakura looked over and saw the girl. "You can't be here….you need to leave." She then said to her. Sakura raised a brow and shrugged.

"To late…" She said. "The rivers probably already filled up." She then said making the kimonoed girl lightly gasp. She knew about the river and how it filled up. That only meant that she'd been there before.

Then the girl recognized the pink hair. "Wait…" She said as she started walking over. "Are you……Mei?" She asked. Sakura looked over in surprise. They still knew her name? She nodded and the girl's face lit up. "You are Mei! Girls!" She turned around and called for her friends; who came out as soon as they were called. "Look! Mei's returned!"

All the girls smiled and ran over. "Oh my god Mei! It's been 6 years! How've you been?!" They all asked in a huddle. Sakura giggled and waved them off. They were a little too close.

"I've been really good." She then answered them. They all smiled and she looked at the top of the bathhouse. "Is it ok….if I come back to work?" She asked them.

"Sure!" They all yelped as they grabbed her hands. "Just go and speak to Tsunade and she'll be happy to set you up with a job again." Sakura sighed. The last time she saw Tsunade, the old woman wasn't exactly happy with her. They dragged her inside and she got a good look at it. It didn't change at all. But to her it did seem a bit smaller since she was bigger. "Here's the elevator!" They all said with smiles. Sakura smiled with a 'thank you' and walked in.

She pulled the lever and the doors shut. The pinkette sighed again and leaned on the wall. Those girls at school always reminded her of the ones that had just showed her to the elevator. Always so cheerful and happy in a way. The elevator stopped and revealed a few people waiting. All their faces turned to shock as she walked out. "Hi there." She said to them with a smile.

"MEI!?"

Sakura giggled as people dropped their things and stared at her as she walked by. 'It really has been a long time…' She thought as she opened the next elevator. Then she realized she was starting to fade away on the way up. "Oh….I forgot about that…" She mumbled. When the elevator opened and revealed the long hallway with the eating rooms, she stepped out and opened the closest door. A few spirits were in there talking. They must have gotten there early or stayed the night.

"Hi." Sakura said as they all looked at her. "I was wondering if I could have a bite of that?" She then asked as she pointed to their food. The strange looking creature nodded and lifted the plate. He held it over and she grabbed a piece of what looked like chicken. "Thank you so much." The pinkette said as she shut the door.

Sakura stood up straight and bit at the meat as she clicked on the elevator button. As she waited someone walked by and stopped. A girl with long blonde hair. Her ice blue eyes blinked in surprisment and she turned to face her all the way. "Mei?" She asked.

Sakura blinked and turned around with the meat still hanging from her mouth. "Huh?" She asked back. Then she saw who it was. "Oh!" The meat dropped and she smiled greatly. "Emi! It's so nice to see you!" The elevator door opened and she put her foot in the door so it wouldn't close.

"Nice to see me?" Emi said as she walked over. "I think it's more like a 'It's great to see you!' kind of thing!" She laughed at this and hugged her friend. "Oh…look at you little sis….you sure grew up…" She mumbled as she looked at Sakura up and down.

Sakura laughed and pointed to her blonde friend. "Well yeah…so have you Emi." She said to her. "It was 'great' seeing you Emi, but I have to get going. Need to talk with Tsunade about my old job." Emi nodded and Sakura stepped in the elevator. They both bowed to each other and the doors closed.

This was it. She could feel it slowly coming to a stop. Then the doors opened and revealed the quiet looking hall. She stepped out and looked right. There they were. Tsunade's doors. Sakura took a deep breath and walked over. Then she did what she didn't last time she was in front of these doors. She knocked.

"Come in…."

Sakura smiled at the talking door and opened the door. All the other doors opened and showed her that she was welcome. Quickly running in before Tsunade could pull her in last time she made her way through the halls. She turned right and then made a left before turning right again. Then the office door was in her sight. She walked over to it and it opened.

The pinkette walked in and smiled at the pigs that were gathered round the fire. Then she glanced over to her left and saw Tsunade at her desk doing what she did last time. Write on paper. "Hi there…." Sakura said with a smile; making the blonde woman look up. Tsunade gasped and dropped her pen.

"Sa-Sakura…." She muttered as she stood up. "You came back?" She then asked. Sakura had her arms folded behind her back and she smiled and nodded with closed eyes. "But…Noon…he…" Sakura's eyes opened and flickered into anger at what she called him. "He tried so hard to get you to go ho—"

"His name is Naruto!"

Tsunade stopped what she was doing and looked at the pinkette. She yelled at her. "Wh-what?" She then asked. Sakura walked closer with anger in her eyes.

"His name is Naruto Uzumaki! Not Noon. Naruto!" She was in Tsunade's face now. "Never call him Noon in front of me again!" Sakura wasn't afraid of the blonde witch as much as she used to be. She hadn't of been if she was able to yell at her. "Plus…" She took a few steps back and crossed her arms. "I came back for a job….my old one wasn't working out."

Tsunade raised a brow and sat down. She wasn't the winey brat she used to be. She wasn't afraid either. "Fine…I'll call him Naruto…but a fair warning, no one else in the bathhouse besides Me, Shizune and Iruka know his real name so everyone else still calls him Noon."

Sakura nodded. "Fine whatever…" She said to her. "I don't care much about them….All I know is that you know his real name and while you do you will call him by that name." She crossed her arms and closed her eyes as Tsunade picked her pen back up. Then she opened one eye to watch the blonde woman reach for a paper. Then she handed it to her.

"Sign it…" Tsunade said as she took it. "Then I'll have you put back to work." Sakura nodded and set the paper on the desk. She wrote her name and handed it to her. But it didn't say Sakura…It said Mei. "Oh…I see….you saved me the trouble of changing your name…" Tsunade mumbled as she rolled it up. Sakura nodded with a smile. "Alright…stand there and wait…" She pointed to a spot a little ways from the desk and then she walked into Shizune's office.

Sakura waited for a long time. Until finally the door to her right opened. Thinking it was Naruto; she turned around with a big smile but it was just a smaller boy. In fact it was Daiki. "Daiki!" She said with another smile. The boy set down a cup of tea on Tsunade's desk and turned around.

"Mei!" He yelled as he ran over. He hugged the pinkette after running over and looked up. "How long have you been back Mei?" He then asked.

"Not too long." She answered. "Look at you…" She then said. "You grew so tall." She patted the black haired boy on the head with a smile.

"If you think I got tall! Wait till you see boss."

Sakura's green eyes narrowed in curiosity. "Boss?" She then asked. "Who's your boss? Tsunade?" Daiki shook his head and went to answer but Tsunade beat him to talking.

"Alright..." The blonde muttered as she walked out of the office. She pulled on a rope and grabbed her cup of tea. Then she noticed Sakura giving her a confused look. "Oh this?" She asked as she held the cup up. Sakura nodded. "I'm trying to cut back on the sake…" She took a sip as she trailed off, and then her eyes flickered over to the door.

Daiki looked over to the door as well and smiled. "Hey Boss." He then said with a smile. Curious of who his boss was, Sakura looked over and gasped.

There he was….The blonde whiskered boy she missed so much. He was so much taller then he used to be. His face grew more narrow and mature but he seemed to still be slight childish with his hand behind his head and the look he was giving Tsunade. "No—Naruto….Mei has returned…take her downstairs to get her job back." The blonde caught herself before she could say Noon. She knew that Sakura would explode on her again.

Sakura saw Naruto's eyes slightly widen when she called him by his name. Then he looked at her while bringing his hands down. "Boss? Your real name is Naruto?" Daiki asked. Naruto nodded but kept his eyes on the pink haired girl.

"Ready Mei?" He asked. His voice made Sakura's heart skip a beat. She missed him that much? She didn't realize it. The pinkette finally nodded and he turned away from her. "Alright….come on…" He then said. A bit confused, Sakura followed him but Daiki stayed. She thought it was quite odd that he didn't see anything but that was probably because he was being proper. Now that he's 18….he's probably a bit more serious about what he does…

When they got in the elevator, Sakura and he waited for the doors to shut. As soon as they did Naruto tackled her in a hug; completely surprising the pink haired girl. "I missed you so much……" He muttered. She smiled and hugged back.

"I missed you too Naruto…" She said back to him. They kept the hug a little longer. "How have you been…." She then asked.

"Good…" The blonde responded. "But…things have been a bit quiet without you around….these past 6 years…" The doors opened and they both pulled away in an instant. Naruto whistled as he pulled the lever again as Sakura kicked the 'dirt' on the ground. Once they were closed they faced each other again with smiles.

"You got so tall Naruto! How did you do it?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know…I just grew" Naruto laughed. "You got taller too."

"But not as much as you did." Sakura laughed back. "I used to be taller then you."

"Well at least you didn't grow your hair out…" Naruto muttered. "I like your short hair better…"

Sakura giggled at this and the doors opened again. But as soon as it opened the radish spirit stood in the way. They both yelped to the sudden giant white spirit. "Radish spirit…" Naruto growled as they both squeezed by him. "That's the 5th time you've done that to me this week!" Sakura giggled a little more. He then made a pouty face and stuck his hands in his pockets.

"So…what happened to quitting being Tsunade's assistant?"

The question stopped the blonde in his tracks and he turned around. "Oh yeah I did quit." He told her, but she only crossed her arms and raised a brow. "Ok…um…well after you left…" He started. "I said I quit being her assistant and I went to go work like the rest of the workers" He put on his goofy smile that never left him in the years. "I even wore that pink uniform for ya."

"You actually did that?" Sakura asked. He nodded and she giggled. "I didn't think you'd actually do that!" She laughed as she playfully shoved him. They both laughed a bit and when they stopped she wiped a tear away. "It's good to know your still you." She then said. "So…then what happened?"

"Well about a month or two later…" Naruto started as they both started walking away. "Tsunade begged me to come back and be the 2nd assistant. She kept complaining that she needed an Erin boy and an assistant to 'write' on papers. See that's what Shizune was jealous of me about…because I was always leaving and doing stuff….Shizune only stayed in her little office….but Tsunade couldn't have her doing both."

Sakura stopped walking and looked at him with a raised eyebrow again. At first he didn't know what it was for, but then he did. "Well on the bright side there's no slug controlling me…." He said to her; making her drop her arms. "And well I still have a contract with the name 'Noon' on it….but I still remember my name….so every things fine."

"Fine…." Sakura muttered as she started walking again. The blonde sighed and followed her downstairs and they soon came to the Forman and all of the employees were waiting. "Hi there Mr. Forman." The pinkette said with a smile.

"Oh…It's you…" The Forman said as he set something down. It looked like a book, but he was keeping it secret. "What do you want?" He asked before looking at Naruto. "Noon…if she came back for a job I'm no—"

"She signed the contract again perv." Naruto said. The old man sat back a little in his seat. "Plus…if you don't take her in…" The blonde then said as he set his hands on the desk. "I'll tell Tsunade about your little secret." The old man gasped.

"Fine! Fine! We'll take her." He yelped. "She's in the girls dorms again! Just go!" Naruto smiled in victory and turned around.

"Is Emi here?" He asked looking around. The girls were all smiling and welcoming Sakura back to the bathhouse. "Emi?" He asked again. Last time the blonde was there but this time she wasn—"

"What?" Emi asked as she walked over. "Just got here…what's going on?" She then asked as she approached the taller blonde.

"Sakura's your assistant again." Naruto said to her a she jerked a thumb in the pinkette's direction. Emi looked over and saw Sakura talking with a few of the workers. "I don't know why she came back…." Naruto then muttered making the other blonde look at him again. "I think she should go back home after awhile….this isn't a place where she can just come here and stay as long as she wea—"

Emi smacked him upside the head and lifted a finger. "She can stay as long as she wants." She then said as she moved the finger side to side. Then she walked over to Sakura to greet her while Naruto stared puzzled.

"Tsunade wants to see you Master Noon…"

Naruto looked over his shoulder and nodded. Then he walked off. He didn't even see that Sakura tried to get his attention and he was gone. 'I wonder what she wants…' he thought as he went up an elevator. His eyes softened and narrowed as they stared at the top of the doors. 'Sakura-Chan….I—'

"Hi Naruto."

Naruto blinked and looked down. The door was open and Shizune was standing in the doorway. She was holding a bag too. He hadn't noticed himself pull the lever again to go up one more floor. "Hi…" He muttered as he walked out. The black haired assistant raised a brow and watched him walk into Tsunade's office. Then after he disappeared into the doors she jumped into the elevator and went down.

Naruto walked into the office and immediately got a men's kimono thrown in his face. "What the hell?" He asked as he grabbed it. He pulled it off his face and looked at it carefully. It was a light and dark blue. "Baa-Chaaaaan?"

"Try it on." Tsunade said as she looked at a strange looking kimono. "We are celebrating Sakura's— I mean Mei's return with a Dance." She smiled at it and looked at him only to see a highly confused blonde.

"Since when do we have dances?"

"Since I found these kimonos and Mei came back." Tsunade told him. "That's when." She gave him a smirk and showed him a kimono. "What do you think?" She then asked. It was an odd kimono…half kimono half dress to be more precise. The top looked like a regular traditional kimono and the bottom was a split dress. The split started in the middle a few inches under the waist so you wouldn't see anything and it went all the way down so the legs would be fully exposed. The light and dark pink color looked good with it.

"Um…" Naruto started with a blank expression. "It looks nice….but is that really your style Baa-Chan?"

"IT'S NOT MINE IDIOT!" Tsunade yelled making the boy jump back. "Anyway….I'm doing this to celebrate her return and I want everyone to participate. It's going to be like a big fancy party ok?" He nodded and she folded the kimono up. Then Shizune came back in with the bag but now it was empty. "Here last one." Tsunade said as she handed the kimono to her. "You do know who get's this one right?" Shizune nodded as she set the kimono in her bag and then she walked out.

"Are we going to have to like…." Naruto paused for a second. "Um…have dates?" He then asked. Tsunade nodded as she sat down. "Say what?! I don't know anybody I can—"

"What about Mei?" Tsunade interrupted as she looked up from a paper. This turned the boy pure red. "I'm sure she'd love to go with you." She then said with a slight chuckle. "Go alone or with someone else if you'd like just get out of here…" She lifted her hand and swiped it across the air. His shirt was then tugged on and he was thrown out of the room.

Naruto stood up by the elevator after his flight through the hallway and pressed the button. His face was still red. 'Damn it…' He thought. 'I don't think I'll be able to ask her…' The door opened and revealed Shizune. "Shizune?" He then asked. She looked at the blonde and nodded. "Wh-when is the dance thing?" He then asked.

"It's tomorrow night." Shizune answered. She bowed to him and then walked into Tsunade's office. Naruto only sighed and walked in the elevator. Then he leaned against the wall to think. He wanted to take Sakura…but he was a bit nervous to ask her. He couldn't even tell her that he loved her loud enough for her to hear six years ago.

The doors opened and the blonde started walking slowly down a hallway. He walked over to a clear door to look out to the ocean. "I should just go alone…" He mumbled. He stared at the ocean with his matching eyes and sighed.

"Go to what alone?"

Naruto looked over to his right and saw an 18 year old boy with black hair. He was holding a tray with food and didn't seem too happy. "You don't know?" He asked him. The raven haired boy shook his head and the fox spirit sighed. "The dance thing Tsunade's putting together…" He told him.

"Oh…that..." The other one said as he started walking away. "Never mind…I know about it." He then said. He opened a door and held out the tray. A spirit grabbed it from him and he shut the door. Then his black eyes looked at Naruto. "What are you doing dobe?"

"Staring at the ocean…" Naruto answered. The raven haired boy walked over and looked at the ocean too. "Sasuke…" The blonde then muttered. The cook looked over without a change in expression and saw that Naruto was still staring. "Are you taking anybody with you?" He then asked.

"Tch…..no." Sasuke answered as he looked at the ocean again. "What's with the ocean to you anyway?" He then asked. Naruto shrugged and the raven haired boy rolled his black eyes. "Whatever dobe….I'm out of here." He started walking away and the blonde looked over his shoulder. Sasuke entered the elevator in the distance and went down.

Naruto sighed and walked down a few more halls. He walked slowly since he didn't know what was ahead of him. He kept his eyes on the ocean. Something about it always helped him think. He stopped as a few girls ran by him. 'Alright….I'll decide if I want to ask her or not later.' He then thought as he turned to face the wall. There was a door so he slid it open.

Inside there was a large room with two beds facing each other. The one closest to the door was messy and unmade, while the one on the other side was neat. Naruto walked over and plopped himself on the messy bed and looked at the ceiling. Then he sighed. 'I can't dance….what am I thinking…' He then thought. He rolled over and looked at the bed on the other side. His eyes narrowed.

About 5 minutes later, Naruto came out of the room and looked around. There weren't many people so he stepped out and shut the door. Before it was shut, there was a quick glimpse of the other bed; which was now messy and some of the pillows were missing.


	3. Jealousy and Sickness

"Ahh….It feels nice to be in this uniform again…" Sakura said as she finished tying the white strap of her pink uniform. "Tell me something Emi…" She then said; getting the blonde's attention. "Did Na— I mean Noon really wear this after I left?" The pinkette asked. She had almost said his name. Good thing she was good at catching herself.

Emi laughed with a nod. "Yeah he did!" She said. "It was so funny. People kept laughing at him…but you know…." She trailed off and sighed as she shut the small closet door. "He said it was all worth it…" She then said; making the pinkette raise a brow. "He said it was worth it because he was doing it for you." Emi turned around with a sweet smile as she said this. Sakura couldn't help but blush.

"Re-really?"

Emi nodded and started laying out her blankets. "Yeah….I thought I was so sweet he'd do that for you." She said to her as Sakura started laying out hers. "Well…the bathhouse is about to close for the night…." She then said as she set her pillow down. "Do you wanna get some shut eye before tomorrow?" Sakura nodded and they both took their over shirts off and laid down.

"You still in to Sasuke?" Sakura asked after a moment. She heard Emi giggle. "Is that a yes?" She then asked as she looked over. Emi shook her head and looked over.

"Well actually…" She said as they both rolled over to put their hands in their palms. "There's this spirit that's been visiting and relaxing here for a year now." She told her. Sakura nodded and the blonde continued. "Well….they call him the spirit of emotion….but the poor boy got his emotion stolen. I'm hoping that one day….I can help return it to him." She smiled and blushed at the same time and they both started to giggle. "So…is this what it's like to gossip with a human?"

Sakura nodded. "I guess….it's probably not that different with gossiping with the other girls." She said to her. Emi shrugged and they both giggled again. "Although…I'm gonna have to meet this 'Emotion Spirit' sometime." Sakura giggled a little more and Emi nodded.

"You know what." Emi said after. "Tomorrow….when we start work…let's see if we can work at his tub!" She got a little excited and pushed herself up.

"Ok!" Sakura yelped doing the same thing. They both giggled a little more and the first time in awhile Sakura felt like she was 12 again.

"Hey….keep quiet will ya…"

"Sorry…" Emi mumbled as she and Sakura lied back down. They both sighed and shut their eyes. Tomorrow was going to be a long day and they needed their rest.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next day started slowly. Sakura was the only one awake when she got up so she decided to walk around a bit. 'Maybe I should go see Iruka…' She thought as she out her pink over shirt on. Then she thought back to the Kimono Shizune brought to her. It was so pretty….and the dance that night….well she was really excited for that. 'I wonder if Naruto will ask me to go with him…' She slightly blushed as she kept going.

The pinkette climbed down the stairs in no rush. She actually barely remembered where she was going. She also had her shoes and socks with her. She couldn't have them in the bathhouse so she decided to take them to the soot balls so they could watch them again. When she found her way downstairs and to Iruka's small door she set her ear against it to see if he was awake. Lucky for her….she heard talking.

"Ok…." Sakura muttered. "Here goes." She slid the door open and crawled inside before shutting it. Then she stood up and opened her eyes. "Huh?" She was a bit surprised. Naruto was sitting in a blanket and talking with Iruka. They also both had cups of what had a tea kind of smell to it.

"Hey Sakura-Chan!" Naruto greeted with a smile. His air was messy like a bed head and he seemed to be still tired. Sakura smiled and walked over.

"What are you doing down here?" She asked. "Oh…and hello Iruka." She then said. The scar faced man was taking a sip of his tea so he waved with his free hand.

"Oh…it's a long story." Naruto answered with a chuckle. Iruka set his cup down and chuckled along with him before looking at Sakura again.

"So your real name is Sakura?" He asked with a smile. Sakura nodded and sat down next to the blonde. "That's a very nice name…it fits you." He then said. "It's so nice to see you after such a long time Sakura. The soot balls missed you." They all looked over and saw the tiny black soot balls jumping around and squealing for joy.

"Guess they noticed me already." Sakura said with a giggle as she stood up. She walked over to the little ledge and sat down so the soot balls could tickle her feet if they wanted. But they didn't; they only jumped onto her lap and jumped around. "Oh…I missed you guys too."

Naruto smiled as he looked at his tea again. He pulled the blanket around him a bit tighter and sighed. "What's up Naruto?" Iruka asked. "You seem down…"

The blonde sighed and looked back up. "It's that dance tonight." He told him. Iruka nodded in understanding and leaned in a little. "Tsunade just randomly decides to have this dance….and I can't even dance. Plus….I'm a nervous wreck when it comes to asking someone to go with me." He made sure he talked loud enough for the older man to hear but still quiet enough so Sakura couldn't hear.

"Well then don't ask anybody." Iruka simply said. "It's as simple as that…..don't ask anybody and just sit and watch…..or stay in your room and later on get kicked back out by your roommate." The man laughed. Naruto didn't laugh though.

"That's not very funny Iruka." He mumbled before taking a sip of his tea. "And well…..There's this person I really want to ask but I'm not sure if I'll be able to…." He trailed off to take another sip. Iruka raised a brow and looked at Sakura; who was now standing up. It was then when he knew exactly who the fox boy was talking about.

"Well…" She said to the man. "I left my Shoes, socks, and cell phone with them if that's alright with you?" She then asked. Iruka nodded.

"That's alright with me."

"Thank you." Sakura said with a slight bow. He waved it off and took another sip of his tea. Then she looked at Naruto. He was wrapped up and holding the tea like he was sick. "You ok Naruto?" She asked. The blonde nodded and she nodded back. "Ok then….I probably should get going." She sat a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "See you later Naruto." As her hand glided off his shoulder he followed it like he was desperate for her, then he fell over making the scar faced man sigh.

"Pathetic…."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"So Mei." Emi said as they cleaned up their room. "Ready to go find the emotion spirit and take care of his emotionless glory?" She then asked with a laugh.

"That sounded very weird." Sakura responded while laughing back. "But yes….i am." She then said.

"Well good!" Emi said after putting her blankets away. "Let's get down there and find out which tub he took." The blonde walked off and left Sakura to put her things away. She was in too much of a hurry. She sighed and turned around before walking off.

"Well…today should be interesting…" She muttered to herself as she walked downstairs. She soon came up to the Forman and saw that the man was writing on something. "What you working on?" She asked as she set her hands on the desk and leaned over. The old man jumped to her sudden voice and hid the object.

"Mei! I found him!"

Sakura looked over her shoulder and saw Emi wearing a big smile. "Oh…ok." Emi came over and grabbed her little sister's arm and pulled her into the room with the baths. "So which one is it?" She then asked. Emi didn't answer, she only stopped and pointed into a room with a smaller tub then the rest.

A boy their age with whitish skin and black hair sat in the tub and had a notebook. He was fascinated by the wooden wall with the tree painted on it so he decided to sketch it. "That's him?" Sakura asked. Emi nodded and ran over.

"Hey Sai….do you need anything?"

Sakura sighed as the two talked. He wasn't as impressive as she thought he'd be…but she guessed it was because of the whole stolen emotion thing. He said something to her that made her squeal with a nod. Sakura rolled her eyes at this and leaned on the green paper wall.

"You're Mei right?"

Sakura flinched from the sudden voice and took a step back. Then she looked to her right and saw a raven haired boy standing there with a tray of food. "Oh….yeah." She said to him. "You must be Sasuke." She then said. He blinked before nodding with an expressionless face and walked into the room where Sai and Emi were. He handed Sai a few things to eat before being talked to by Emi. He only ignored her and walked back over to Sakura.

"She's so annoying." He muttered as he turned around to watch them. Sakura shrugged as she shook her head and they both watched then she realized he was still there.

"Um…Why are you still here?" Sakura asked as she pointed to him. He flinched. She never thought that the 'great' and 'almighty' Sasuke would flinch. Well….that's how Emi used to describe him. She even saw him bit his lip. Then the seriousness came back in an instant. Wondering why; the pinkette was just about to ask but then she saw Naruto.

"Hey Mei." He said as he walked by. He was holding a stack of towels and some of the workers were following him holding their own stack. Then he stopped and rewound himself to stand by her again. "What's going on? Why is Sasuke standing with you? He's evil…he will kill you….I'm telling you he wi—"

"Relax Noon." Sakura said as she set a finger on his lips. She only called him Noon since everyone else was listening. "He's just standing here. We only talked for like 2 seconds." The blonde blushed slightly; catching the raven haired boy's eye. "Now go." She shooed the fox spirit off and looked at Emi again. Then Sasuke. "Well….why you still here?"

"Do you have a date to that dance tonight?" He asked; keeping his expressionless face forward. Sakura mentally gasped at this. Sasuke had an evil plan to make Naruto jealous in a way….but she didn't know…she only gasped because HE asked and not the blonde she was hoping would.

"No…."

"Come with me then."

Sakura once again mentally gasped. 'I guess I could go with him….' She thought as she looked at the ground. 'I mean….Naruto hasn't even asked me….he's even had a few perfect moments.' She looked back and took a deep breath. 'I guess he's already taking someone….or he just doesn't want to go with me….' She closed her eyes for a moment; a little upset and then looked at Sasuke. "Ok I'll go with you." She said.

"Good."

Sasuke smirked and walked away after her answer and she only stared. It was kind of odd….but she guessed that's how spirits asked people out. Or it was just how Sasuke did it. "Hey Emi!" She called. Immediately the blonde looked at her. "Guess who asked me to the dance tonight?"

In an instant, the blonde had pulled her in and all the way over to the other side of the tub so no one in the hall could see them. Then they both knelt down. "Was it Noon?!" She asked in a slight panic yet excited way. Sai had made his way over and leaned over the edge to listen in. Sakura shook her head and Emi made a puzzled face. "Then wh—"

"Sasuke."

"WHAT!!?" Emi yelled as she jolted to her feet. She brought Sakura along with her and the two nearly hit the poor emotionless spirit. "NO WAY! It took me years for him to at least say thank you to me! And all in one day he asks you to go to the dance with him?!" Sakura nodded. She wasn't 'that' excited, but it was better then waiting for Naruto. If he was going to take her, he would have asked her by now.

"Who is Sasuke?"

Both girls looked up to Sai. He was leaning over the edge of the tub and listening to everything. "Oh…He's the guy that brought you your food earlier Sai." Emi answered with a big smile. Then she looked at Sakura and looked like she was going to explode. "I can't believe he asked you…" She growled. Then the blonde sighed. "Oh well….I call Sai's tub. You go find someone else's." She walked around and got a few things out to help Sai relax as Sakura made her way out.

The pinkette sighed as she walked in the hall between the tubs. People were walking around with towels and cleaning supplies. One was coming right for her. Wait, what? Right for her! She lifted her hands afraid they'd hit her but they stopped. "Mei?" They asked. Sakura dropped her hands and acted as if she didn't do anything and nodded. "You see , the canine spirit is a little on edge since no one will come to his bath to help and such and everyone else is busy. Can you take care of him please?"

Sakura nodded and the girl handed her a bucket of dog cleaning supplies. "Thank you." She said. "Just go down a few more baths and you'll find him. You can't miss him." Sakura nodded and the girl walked away.

"This should be fun…" Sakura muttered to herself. "Washing a giant dog the size of the tub…" She walked passed a few tubs until she found the tub with a dog inside it. But it wasn't as big as the tub. It was actually smaller and to top it off….there was a boy inside it too. Eyes a little wide, the pinkette entered with her things. Then the boy opened his eyes. They were dog like. He also had brown hair and upside down triangle marks under his eyes. "He-hello?

"Hey there!" He yelped with a smile. "Finally someone came along….can you wash Akamaru for me?" He then asked as he pointed to the dog. Sakura nodded and walked over. She grabbed a few dog cleaning supplies and started scrubbing the dogs hair. The boy opened his eyes again and looked at her. "Hey….I've been coming here for a few months….and I haven't seen you anywhere." He said. "Are you new?"

Sakura kept washing the dog and looked up. "Oh…no I'm not." She told him. "I worked here 6 years ago though." He raised a brow and leaned over a little. Then he sniffed the air.

"You smell like a human…." He muttered with a raised brow. She was still washing the dog as she kept her eyes on him. "Are you human?" He then asked. Sakura nodded and looked at the giant dog again. Then the brunette sat back again while setting his hands behind his head. "Interesting…..what's your name?"

"Mei."

The dog like boy looked over and smiled. "Is that your real name?" He asked. This made her look up fast. Then he chuckled before leaning in a bit. "I heard the owner of this place steals the employee's names." He told her.

"Oh…" Sakura giggled a bit as she shook her head. "No…it's not my real name. But I remember it still." She told him. She washed the soap from Akamaru's fur. "So is this the canine spirit?" She asked the boy.

"Nah…" He answered as he sat back with his hands behind his head again. "I'm the spirit of the canines. But you can call me Kiba." He chuckled a bit and closed his eyes. "I have a lot of dogs….but he's my favorite because I had him before I died. He just died with me."

"How'd you die Kiba?"

"I can't remember." Kiba answered; opening his eyes again. "But…Akamaru remembers…..he just won't tell me." He laughed and lightly patted the dog's head. Then he looked behind her and saw people running around with decorations and talking about the dance. "So I hear…there's some kind of dance…" He then said as he looked at her again. "You going?"

"Yeah…" Sakura answered as she started on Akamaru's legs. "I'm not going who I first wanted to go with…..but I don't mind anymore." Kiba raised a brow and scooted himself over then he rested on the edge of the bath near her.

"Who was it you wanted to go with?"

"This guy that works here…" Sakura answered with a sigh. "You might not know him….he doesn't really get around this place as much as everyone else."

"I might know him….what's his name?"

"Noon." Sakura told him. "He's Tsunade's assista—"

"Oh! Noon." Kiba said as he jolted up. "I know him….that guy's my buddy. He washes Akamaru from time to time." He laughed and rubbed the dogs head. "But I couldn't find him today….no one could so I guess they made you wash him instead." Then he looked at her with a curious look. "Is 'that' his real name?"

Sakura shook her head. And he rested on the edge again. "Oh….Does he know it?" He asked. Sakura nodded this time and he perked up a little. "When did he remember it?" He then asked.

"6 years ago." Sakura answered. "I helped him remember it…after he helped me remember mine. I almost forgot it but he gave me some of my things that had my name on it so I remembered it. His was more difficult to remember though….I had to remember the time when I met him 'before' he died."

"You knew him before he died?!" Kiba asked in shock. Sakura nodded with a giggle and she started putting some of the cleaning things away. "Aw man that's so cool! What was the dude like? How old were you guys?"

"We were 6 years old. And he was very nice." Sakura answered as she grabbed another bottle of soap. "He bought me an ice cream….and died saving my life."

"Aw man….." Kiba muttered. "He's been here 12 years….that sucks…" He sighed and shook his head. "I feel bad for the guy…" Sakura giggled and put some of the soap in her hand. "Oh! That's for me!" He yelped as he turned around and pointed to his hair. She nodded and started rubbing it in. "I'd do it myself but you are the worker….and I am the guest." He chuckled and the pinkette rolled her eyes. "So why aren't you going with Noon?"

"Because…" Sakura started. "If he wanted to go with me….he would have asked me already right? So I said yes to who asked me. Noon had so many opportunities to ask me…but he didn't." She sighed and threw some water on his head. "I thought I loved him you know….but I just don't think he loves me back….so might just have to st—"

"Whoa whoa whoa!!" Kiba yelped as he turned around; making her yelp in surprise. "This kid died saving your life and you think he doesn't love you? You're crazy…" He huffed and turned back around while crossing his arms.

"But…" Sakura started. "He would have asked me by now right?" Kiba didn't answer her so she sighed again. For the rest of the time, Kiba didn't really talk to her. She stayed with him until he and Akamaru were done with the bath and walked them back to their room. She never thought she'd have that kind of conversation with one of the guests. "Well…" She said to herself as she made her way back to the room. "Might as well get ready for tonight….."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Thanks Iruka…" Emi muttered as the older man handed her his empty bowl. She looked over to the blonde sitting on the wood with his feet by the soot balls. "Noon…." She said as she walked over. "You ok" She then asked.

Naruto looked a little down while he watched the soot balls carry the last bits of coal into the boiler. Emi sat down next to him and set a hand on his back. She didn't really like him, but when he was down like this she could be a bit friendly. "Noon….the dance is going to start in a few minutes….all the guests are in their rooms and Tsunade is preparing the room."

"I'm not going…."

"What?" Emi asked. "Why not?" She looked at Iruka and saw the man shrug before looking at Naruto again.

"I found out Mei's going with Sasuke….and I wanted to go with her." Naruto muttered to her. "I'm not going…." He then said.

"Hey!" Iruka yelped, making both blondes look at him. "How bout this Noon…I'll go and hang out with you. I haven't been up stairs in years." He then said as he walked over. "I have a men's kimono I could wear. You have one right?" Naruto nodded. "Great….Emi, he'll be up there just to relax and enjoy the music."

Emi nodded and stood up. "Ok….I'll see you up there." She then said as she walked away. She opened the small door and crawled through, before walking up stairs. She was excited about the dance but she also was thinking about what Naruto and Sakura had said. She was going with Sasuke and Naruto really wanted to go with her….

"Oi…This is gonna be a rough night." She thought as she made her way to the girl's dorm. "I wonder…..what will happen between Noon and Sasuke….they fight so much already…" She slid the door open and walked inside. Then she saw Sakura. 'Especially when the idiot sees her….' She then thought as her jaw hit the ground.

Sakura was wearing the Kimono Tsunade had showed Naruto. Both shades of pink looked beautiful with her hair; which was its whole different shade. "Mei….that looks amazing on you!" Emi said as she walked over. Sakura turned around with a smile. "I guess the princess of the dance gets the best dress." She laughed.

"Thanks……" She said. "Tsunade had Konan make it for me. Or at least….that's what Shizune told me." They both giggled and Emi walked over to the closet to get hers out. After she got her's on they headed downstairs. "So…what room is the dance in?" She asked.

"Tsunade used some magic to clear out the room with all the baths." Emi said as they walked down a flight of stairs. "So now….it's just a big empty room." She smiled brightly and the pinkette stopped.

"Wow…" She mumbled as she watched people dance in the room. "There's am orchestra and everything…" She then said.

"I actually had no idea about the orchestra." Emi said as they looked around. "But oh well….I guess we do need music after all." She then said with a laugh. She saw Sakura look over to the left. Naruto was leaning against a wall with Iruka. He had his head back and was staring at the ceiling as people danced around the room.

"Noon looks so bummed."

Emi looked at her again and smiled. "Yeah….he told me he really wanted to come to this thing with you." She told her. She winked at her as the pinkette's head turned to face her in an instant. Then Sasuke approached them both.

"Ready?"

Sakura nodded but Emi huffed. "Geez Sasuke!" She yelped making him jump back a little. "Don't even compliment how she looks or anything!" She shook her head and started walking away. "Emi is out!"

Sasuke sighed and looked at Sakura again. Then he held out a hand to her. After this, Sakura saw him glance over to his right and slightly smirk. Then she looked to see what he was smirking at. It was Naruto. She saw the blonde give Sasuke a small glare before looking away all in one second. Then Sakura looked at the raven haired boy with a disgusted look. "So that's what this is about."

Sasuke blinked and looked at her after she said this. "You're only doing this to piss him off!" She jerked her hand away from his and started to walk towards the blonde. She then heard him call her name and she turned around. "Look….if you really do like me…..dance with me because you want to…not because you want to make someone else jealous…..I found out…Noon really wanted to dance with me….he just didn't have the guts to ask me…..So if you want to dance with me, great! Just don't do it to piss someone else off, or I'm gone." He looked at her with wide eyes as she glared at him with mean green eyes. "Now…if you would excuse me….I'm going to dance with Noon…..the person I 'should' be here with."

Sakura turned back around and took a deep breath before walking over to the blonde. He had his arms crossed and his eyes closed. He didn't look very happy as she knelt down. "Naruto." She said as she poked his knee. He opened one of his eyes. "Would you like to dance with me?" She then asked.

"No…." Naruto said with a huff. He had both eyes open now and he was looking to the left, but she only kept looking at him with a smile. Then he looked at her in the corner of his eyes and sighed. "Yes…." She smiled and stood up. Then he got up and smiled at her. "Y-you look really nice in that…" He muttered as they walked over to the dance floor.

"Thank you Naruto." Sakura said back. Then they went hand to hand and started dancing. "So….i heard you wanted to ask me…..but never did." She said to him after a moment.

"Well…yeah." Naruto said back with a slight blush. "I was a bit nervous and didn't know 'how' to ask you." He chuckled and looked away to glare at Sasuke who was now leaning on the stairs. "Man…I can't believe he did that…" He then muttered.

"Look at me Blondie." Sakura said. He immediately did and smiled. "You know your right….I can't believe he did it either. At first I thought he was doing it because he thought I was pretty, that's the reason most guys ask me on dates…..I'm not even that pretty…." She stopped from looking straight into his chest and looked up. "Right?"

Naruto only blinked. The most beautiful girl he had ever seen just asked him if he agreed with her of not being 'that' pretty. He had no idea what to tell her. His eyes were a bit wide too. He froze up too….he couldn't speak. Sakura raised a brow. "We-well….to me…you're really pretty…" He finally said. "I mean….not like 'Smoken Hot'….but pretty….the word 'hot'….it just feels so fake to me…"

"It feels fake to me too!"

Naruto raised a brow. "Really?" He then asked. Sakura nodded with a chibi like smile and he smiled back. "What about sexy?" He asked. She nodded again and he smiled even more. "It's great to know someone else agrees with me." He laughed. They both laughed a little as the dancing kept going. "So any way Sakura-Chan…" The blonde blushed a little. "There's something I really need to tell you…"

""What is that?"

Naruto gulped and looked over to Sasuke. The black haired boy had his eyes closed now; trying to ignore the girls asking him to dance. Then he heard Sakura tell him to look at her again. "S-Sorry…" He muttered. He blushed a little more. "Well for awhile now….I've felt this way…and I think I should tell you." Sakura nodded again. "I….I lo—"

"Hey! Mei!"

Naruto and Sakura both looked over to see Emi dancing with Sai. "Emi?" Sakura asked. "How did you get Sai down here?"

"I asked Tsunade." Emi told her. "Anyway….i was gonna ask you what happened to Sasuke?"

Sakura sighed and stopped dancing with Naruto, while Emi stopped dancing with Sai. "He ended up only wanting to take me to make Noon jealous." She told her while pointing to the upset blonde behind her.

"Oh…."

Emi slightly giggled and then looked at Sasuke with a death glare. Then she went back to dancing with Sai. Sakura turned around and held her hands out to dance again and Naruto did as well. "So you were saying?" She then said.

"Never mind."

Sakura raised a brow. "Common…you can tell me anything." She said to him. But he shook his head saying the same thing. "Naruto…." The pinkette said; only loud enough for him to hear. "I'm your best friend right? You can tell me." This made his eyes widen slightly. Then he looked upset. "N-Naruto? What's wrong? We are best friends right?" Sakura then asked in a slight panic. He nodded, but she still saw the sadness as they danced. He wouldn't even look at her. "Naruto….are you ok? What's wrong?"

.

.

Friends….that's all they were to her….

.

.

Meanwhile Tsunade sat in a chair and drank some sake. She was in a kimono just like the rest of them but wasn't dancing or anything. "Look at Naruto…" She muttered to Shizune; who was right next to her. "He looks a bit disappointed over there." She then said.

Shizune nodded. "I wonder what has him all upset…" She then mumbled. Then a frog man ran over and was carrying a letter. He handed it to Shizune and told her that it was for Tsunade. "Thank you." She then said as he ran off. She then handed it to the blonde next to her.

Tsunade opened the letter and started reading it. After a moment she sighed and shut it. "Damn…." She muttered. "She's coming back and wants someone to come get her." She then said. "I guess I'll have to send someone that isn't busy."

"What about Sasuke? He's only a cook and he won't be back till tomorrow morning if he goes."

Tsunade looked over to the raven haired boy who was leaning on the stair cases and then handed the letter to her. "Splendid!" She then yelped. "He knows her anyway. Go give him the letter and let him take off now." Shizune nodded and did just that.

"Sasuke?" Shizune asked after arriving right next to him. The raven haired boy opened his eyes and looked over; only to see her holding the letter. "Madam Karin would like you to come get her." She then said. Sasuke sighed and grabbed the letter. Then the black haired assistant walked back over to her master.

"Damn it…" He mumbled as he read it over. Then he glanced over in Naruto and Sakura's direction. The pinkette looked as if she was trying to cheer him up. Then he growled and bit his lip. The cook reached over to the stair case and grabbed a golden piece that sat on top of the end of the rail. It was small but he could use it for however he please. Sasuke looked in that direction again and tore the small piece off. Then he tossed it….or more like flicked it.

The piece hit the back of Naruto's head and he yelped in both surprise and the fact that it hurt. He grabbed the back of his head while people stopped dancing to look. "Noon, are you ok?" Sakura asked. She called him by Noon only to the fact, all eyes were on them. Naruto nodded and set his hand down, while the pinkette picked the gold piece up.

"Maybe you should sit down for a second Noon."

"Ye-yeah…"

Emi led the blonde over to a seat so he could sit, while Sakura looked at the stairs. She then saw a quick flash of Sasuke before he disappeared at the top. "Oh my…god…" She mumbled as she kept staring. "He…he's actually jealous…"

"Are you ok Naruto?"

Naruto nodded Iruka off as they sat alone for a while. "Geez….now look." He pointed over to Sakura. "Now she's not even dancing…." He sighed and looked at the ground.

"I think that's where your little assassin went."

Both Naruto and Iruka jumped at the voice and looked to their right. The canine spirit known as Kiba was sitting next to the blonde and was pointing at the stairs. "How the hell did you get down here?!" Naruto asked as the brunette laughed.

"I wasn't hard." Kiba told him. "I walked downstairs." He then said. Naruto sighed again and then Kiba leaned in a little bit. "So…your real name is Naruto?" He asked. The blonde's head jolted up and looked at him. "That's what he called you." Kiba said as he pointed to Iruka. The fox spirit sighed again and stood up.

"I'm gonna go dance again…." Naruto muttered. Then he stopped and looked at Iruka. "Thanks for showing me how to by the way." He said with a smile. Iruka nodded and waved him off before taking a sip of his sake. He walked over to Sakura and grabbed her hands, which still held the gold piece.

"Naruto….Sasuke did it."

Naruto stopped what he was doing and blinked. Her eyes were still glues to the stair case. "I'll be back in a few minutes…" He then said as he grabbed the gold piece. Then he started walking away; making her finally take her eyes off the stairs.

"Noon!" Sakura called. She only called him this since it was loud enough for other people to hear. "You're not going to hurt him are you!?" He didn't respond; he only kept walking up the stairs. Then she sighed. She didn't like where this was going.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Naruto charged through the hallway. He wasn't happy with what Sasuke did, but he wasn't going to pick a fight…just maybe knock some since into the guy. He found his room and opened the door. "Sasuke!" He yelled as he walked in. The raven haired boy looked over from his bed and stood up. He had just made it. "What the hell was that for?!"

"What?" Sasuke asked. "Making my bed or me throwing that gold thing at you?" He then asked. Naruto grinded his teeth and threw the gold piece in his bed before pointing a finger.

"Look Sasuke…" The blonde growled. "I don't know what your problem is, bu—" Naruto was interrupted as the other boy punched him. He got a little too close for Sasuke's comfort. He hadn't moved after the punch; he only stared at the bed. Then the blonde brought his hand up to rub his cheek. "Did you really just punch me?"

Sasuke nodded and the blonde seemed to lose his temper. He gripped his fist and brought it up to punch back. As soon as this happened the raven haired boy's eyes widened slightly. Then he went to throw the punch but stopped. "What's wrong?" Sasuke then asked as his hand dropped. For some reason, Naruto looked really sick all of a sudden as he brought his hand to touch his forehead. "You ok?"

"Sasuke…" Naruto muttered as he took a step back. It was a dangerous looking step back….as if he was drunk. "Sasuke…something's wrong…I….I don't feel good." His feet hit the blankets on his bed and he held a hand out. "Get..someone…" He muttered.

"What's happening to you?"

"I……don't…know…….." Naruto answered the confused boy. "Get somebody…please….anyone…Sakura…get Sakura…" He then said as he fell to his knees.

"Who?"

"Mei….Mei…..get…..Mei…" The blonde fell over and blacked out on his bed leaving Sasuke highly confused. The raven haired looked at the other for a moment and saw that he looked very ill. Then in a slight panic he ran out the door to go tell this so called 'Sakura' and the others.


	4. Karin Attacks!

"NOON DIED!"

Everyone looked at the staircase and saw Sasuke looking at them. Then he ran back up. For a second they all just stood there but when they saw Sakura making her way up the steps they all panicked. They all ran up as well after. "Sasuke!" Sakura called out as she chased him down a hallway. "What do you mean he died?!"

The raven haired boy didn't respond. He only stopped and opened a door to his right. Sakura caught up and looked inside. She gasped. Naruto looked very ill. Deathly ill. "Naruto…." She said as she walked over. Then she covered her mouth and looked at Sasuke. He heard her.

"Naruto?"

'Crap!' Sakura mentally smacked herself on the forehead and looked at Naruto again. His breathing was heavy and His face looked flushed with fever. "What's wrong with him?" She then asked as she looked over her shoulder. Sasuke shrugged and she looked at the blonde again. Everyone finally caught up and Tsunade shoved through to see.

"Noon!" She yelped when she came inside the room. "Mei, what happened to him?" She then asked the pinkette. Sakura shrugged and Iruka soon made his way through the crowd.

"Mei…." Iruka said as he came in. Sakura looked at him and he knelt down next to her and the sick blonde. "Do you still have the healing hands?" He asked her. Sakura's eyes slightly widened. She still had them. She nodded and looked at Naruto again. "Put them on his forehead…maybe it will help." The pinkette nodded and did so as her hands glowed green.

Tsunade watched for a moment, and then she looked at Sasuke. "Go get something for him to drink now!" She yelled. The raven haired boy nodded and was soon out the door and down the hall. "Let's get him in his bed and under the blankets."

Sakura nodded, and they all worked together to move the blonde into his bed. "Should I keep healing?" She then asked. Iruka nodded and she did so. Sasuke then came in with a drink. 'Naruto….' Sakura thought as the blonde breathed heavily. 'What's happening to you?'

His eyes opened, making everyone lean in. Tsunade and Shizune held them all back from entering the room though. His blue eyes looked glassy and unfocused. They were barely opened and Sakura didn't notice at first, but when she did she smiled. "You're awake." She said with a big smile. She was the only person he could see at the moment. "Thank God you're ok Noon." Hearing her call him Noon told him that there were other people around.

His glassy eyes looked to the right and noticed Sasuke standing there a little confused. He wondered if he actually went and got everyone or they just found him on their own. "Here…." Sakura said as she held a drink. "Some of this might help…then you should get some rest." Naruto barely nodded and Iruka helped him sit up to drink it. Then when he lied back down he closed his eyes to sleep.

With a sigh of relief Sakura stood up and looked at Sasuke. "He didn't die." She said to him. He looked over and shrugged.

"It seemed like he did…."

The pinkette narrowed her eyes and then looked at Naruto. His breathing was still heavy and he still looked ill, but not as bad. 'At least he's doing better….' She thought as she turned to walk out. On the way out she glared at Sasuke. She had a deep feeling that this was his entire fault; especially after seeing the slight grin on his face.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

All night Sakura thought about Naruto. She was in her bed in perfect health while he looked as if he was dying in his. The sun peaked into the room and she pulled the blankets over her head. 'He could have died in the middle of the night….' She thought. 'I didn't even get any sleep….'

The door opened and made her open her eyes. Was someone leaving? Or was someone coming in? "Pssst! Sakura-Chan!" Someone called from over by the door. The voice was familiar. But….how could it be him? She slowly sat up and pulled the blankets away to look at the door, and it WAS him.

"Naruto?" Sakura whispered in disbelieve. The blonde nodded and looked around. "Naruto? What the hell are you doing? Shouldn't you be in your bed right now dying?!" She almost woke some of the girls up and he shushed her.

"Sakura-Chan I'm fine." Naruto told her. "I feel better then ever." He then said as he looked around again and used his hand to gesture her over. "I went up and let Tsunade-Baa-Chan know that I was ok and she made me go get Sasuke from the train station." Sakura raised a brow. "Please come with me….the girl he went to go get creeps the hell out of me."

"Fine…I'll go……" Sakura muttered as she got up. "But on the way back….." She then said as she walked out the door. She pointed a finger in his face and narrowed her eyes. "You're carrying me"

"Ok!"

He turned around and started walking away. With a raised brow, Sakura walked closer to him and stopped him. "Are…..are you sure you're ok?" She asked him. Naruto nodded and kept walking. "But yesterday…..you looked as if you were dying…"

"You remember the fox?" Naruto asked a she looked at her. She nodded. "Well yea…..It heals me…"

"Over night?!"

"Yes. It's simple." He slightly laughed. But she kept her brow raised. "Ok…Slap me." He then said as he turned to face her. She asked why but he only held his cheek out like he WANTED her to do it. "If I was still sick…you'd probably kill me." He then said with a slight chuckle. Her green eyes narrowed and then she pulled her hand back, before slapping him across the face. He lost his balance and hit the side door. "Whoa! Didn't know you hit that hard…" He muttered as he rubbed his cheek. "Or else I wouldn't have asked you." He laughed. Then he started walking again.

He didn't speak for awhile. Sakura found it strange. What ever happened yesterday during the dance was still upsetting him. She knew it. Soon they arrived at the metal door Sakura only knew was familiar because of the chase from Tobi 6 years ago.

Sakura remembered going down to Emi and jumping in a boat. Then finding the train. Thinking about it all…..brought her thoughts to the blonde in front of her. She remembered doing it all to help him. All she could think about was the blonde until something very white and big on the train tracks caught her attention.

Sakura grabbed Naruto and pulled him close. "Why the hell is my truck on the train tracks?!" She yelled. His blue eyes looked over and noticed the truck but he only shrugged. On the train tracks, her truck faced the direction swamp bottom was. It was still clean and shiny, but knowing Sakura…..she was still freaking out.

"What's a truck?" Naruto asked. He's been dead so long he forgot what a truck was. "Because I don't remember what they are or what they do….all I remember is that they a BIG and small…."

"It drives…." She muttered as he carried her across the water. She saw him raise an eyebrow and sighed. "You know….moves….." His brow was still raised. "Forward…" She then said with another sigh.

"Oh…" Naruto looked forward with a still clueless look. When they reached the train tracks, Sakura jumped off his back and examined her truck. She was very confused of how it got there and at the same time was happy. It would make picking up Sasuke a bit easier.

Sakura then noticed Naruto get in the driver's seat and shut the door. "What are you doing?" She asked as she opened the door. He turned the ignition on and she jumped in before shutting her door. "I guess it would make it easier to go get Sas—AAHHH!!!!" Naruto slammed on the gas and the truck went flying down the tracks. They were both screaming at the top of their lungs…..Naruto: Because he had NO idea what was happening and Sakura: Because it was her brand new truck….and for some reason….it had gas…

Meanwhile Sasuke and a woman with red hair stood at the first stop. They waited for a moment and then the woman spotted something white in the distance. "Hmm…Sasuke-kun….what is that?" She asked as she pointed. Sasuke looked over and Sakura's white truck zoomed by. They both heard Sakura and Naruto's screaming and were splashed with water. "Eh!! I'm wet!! What the hell was that!?"

"That Karin…" Sasuke muttered as he wiped some water off his face. "Was an idiot driving a truck." The woman known as Karin huffed and shook her hair around, as Sasuke kept staring forward. Then his eyes slightly widened and he looked over to the direction the truck went. 'He's alive?!'

"SLAM ON THE BREAKS NARUTO!!!!!!" Sakura screamed as she pointed to his feet.

"I AM!!" Naruto yelled as he pointed as well.

"THE OTHER BREAKS YOU IDIOT!!!" She yelled back.

His foot found the other pedal and he slammed on it. Then her truck halted to a stop leaving them both gasping for air. "We passed Sasuke…" Sakura then muttered; mostly to herself. Then she saw something in the distance. "Naruto….." She muttered; getting the blonde's attention. "Is….that the train?"

"Oh yeah…" Naruto responded. "I forgot to tell you….The train runs this way now." He then said. For some reason he had a smile on his face….until he realized the situation they were in. "SHIT!!" He slammed on the break again but it didn't move. She reached over and switched it to reverse and he kept slamming on it.

"OTHER ONE!!"

Naruto finally slammed on the other one and the truck went flying back towards the bathhouse; both of them screaming again. As they approached Sasuke, Karin ran back into the tunnel so she wouldn't get wet. Sasuke only stood there and got wet again. But by now….he didn't really care. "Karin…the trains coming." He then said. She nodded and walked back out to wait for the train.

Naruto and Sakura had another short argument on which pedal to push to stop and then it did. They both sat there for a moment staring forward and watched Sasuke and Karin board the train. "That…..was…..AWESOME!!" Naruto yelled as he threw his fist in the air. He accidently punched the ceiling; making her flinch and pull his arm down.

"It wasn't awesome!" Sakura barked. "This is a brand new truck…and if…" She trailed off as she looked out the window shield. The train was coming. "Oh my god! Naruto do something!!!" The blonde sighed and started to get out, but she grabbed his arm. "No! I can't have this truck destroyed."

"Oh….why didn't you just say so?" Naruto asked as he set his hand on the dashboard. The red substance she remembered all too well made itself around the truck and their bodies and the train went straight through. "All done." He then said as he jumped out.

Sakura slowly crawled out of the truck and made her way around. Then she noticed the train stop at another station. She was dumbstruck as she pointed and looked at the blonde. He looked over and then to the other train station. "Oh…They added a new station last year." He told her.

"What?!" Sakura yelped. "Then…..then why did you get in my truck and drive off with it?!" She then asked. She was surprised that it was even there, but the fact that there was a train station right next to the bathhouse now….what was the point of even getting IN her truck?

"Oh that…." Naruto muttered as he scratched his head. "I don't know….I was just curious." He then said as he started walking. Sakura's brow twitched as she followed him.

'That was just ridiculous…..'

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Emi sat up as she heard the door to the room open. She looked over and saw Naruto struggling to open it all the way as he held Sakura in his arms. "Noon? You're ok?" She asked as he finally got inside. He nodded and stumbled over; trying not to wake anyone else up. "Why do you have Mei? Did something happen?"

"No…" Naruto answered as he set the pinkette down in her bed. "She went to run an aron with me and….well got very tiered." He slightly laughed and they helped each other pull the blankets over Sakura. "Thanks…." He then said as he stood up. "Let her know I'll be talking to Tsunade about her truck."

"Truck?" Emi asked in confusion. He nodded and walked over to the door. Then he said 'see ya' before shutting it behind him. "What the hell is a tru – Oh…wait….never mind…I remember." She lied back down and sighed before falling asleep.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

About an hour later, Sakura opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling. "Great….Now I CANT sleep." She muttered to herself as she sat up. Her green eyes stared at the door ahead. It was cracked open slightly. "Might as well take a short walk… "She then said as she got up. She walked out of the room and started walking around the bathhouse. A walk would get her tired again.

Sakura strolled through the rooms where the baths were and saw that the baths had returned. Everything was back to normal. 'Damn…I was hoping I'd get the day off today…' She then thought with a sigh. She made her way around and still felt awake. Then she got in an elevator and hoped she'd at least fall asleep in there. But when it opened she was awake enough to walk out.

She stumbled down the hall hugged by the eating rooms and soon was face to face with the ocean. "So pretty…." She muttered to herself. Then her eyes moved to the right and saw another hall. She walked down it. "I hope I don't get lost…." She then said as she looked around. The pinkette went up some steps and saw another hallway. It was much more colorful and looked like rooms. Then she saw something in the distance. One of the doors to the right was open. "Is that….Naruto's room?"

Sakura walked down the hall and made her way over to the door. Then she peaked inside. She was right. It was his room. Naruto looked like he'd been awake all night as he laid the wrong way on his bed. He had an arm on his forehead as he slept. Sakura set her hands on the door and went to shut it, but then she noticed another bed. Sasuke was in it. 'They're…roommates?' She thought in surprise. Then after shaking her head, the pinkette shut the door and turned around to look at the ocean again.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Naruto slowly opened his eyes after hearing something shut. He slowly lifted his head while moving his arm away and looked at the door. 'What….' He thought. 'I left that wide open…' He glanced over to Sasuke and narrowed his eyes. He then grabbed one of his pillows and tossed it to the raven haired boy; making him sit up in anger.

"What?!"

"Did you close the door?" Naruto asked as he pointed to the door. Sasuke looked at the door and shook his head. "But it was wide open when I came in." The blonde then said. Then he started looking around.

"What are you doing?"

"Look Sasuke." Naruto said. Then he lifted his blankets and looked under there. "Look under your blankets! Someone might be in here." He then said as he started throwing his pillows around.

"You idiot…" Sasuke muttered. "This is an empty room…and I think I would be able to tell if someone else was in the blankets." He then said. The blonde looked over and he pointed to the door. "Someone on the outside probably shut it." He set his hand down and lied down. "Unless you 'want' Sakura to be in the bed with you…."

The blonde blushed deeply after this was said. But once the sentence really soaked in he threw another pillow at the cook across the room; making him sit up again. "How did you know that was her name?" He asked as calmly as he could.

"You called her that before you passed out from that strange sickness…."

"I…did?" Naruto asked. Sasuke nodded and went to lie back down but the blonde threw a pillow at him again.

"WHAT DOBE!"

"That was for that dirty joke." Naruto muttered emotionless. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "And would you stop calling me dobe?" The blonde then asked. The raven haired boy shook his head and went to lie down again….but of course another pillow was thrown. "I'm almost out of pillows….can you hand some back?"Naruto loved his pillows.

"God I hate you!" Sasuke yelped.

"I hate you too!!" Naruto yelped back.

"Why did Tsunade have to make us roommates!?!" Sasuke then asked as yelling.

"I don't know!! Why don't you ask her!?" Naruto screamed back.

By now they were head to head in a fist fight screaming insults back and forth. Then as Sasuke had a hold of Naruto's blonde hair, and the blonde had a hold of Sasuke's mouth and was pulling on it….the door opened and revealed a very confused Sakura. Both boys looked over and blinked as she stared at the two. "Hi…Sakura-Chan…" Naruto muttered as Sasuke pulled a bit harder on his hair. "This…is just one of our….daily fist fights…don't worry…"

"Don't worry?" Sakura asked. Naruto tried to nod, but the pain on the top of his head was too great and prevented him from doing so. "Why should I now worry? I close your door and look out to the ocean for five minutes or so and you guys nearly kill each other in here?" At that moment, Naruto and Sasuke let go of each other and sat on their beds.

"Told you someone on the outside shut it." Naruto muttered with a proud look. Sasuke threw a pillow at the blonde; making his fall over.

"I said that idiot!" He yelped. Then Sakura shoved him down onto his bed. She was still standing and was giving him a mean stare; which in a way….actually scared him.

"You too stop fighting." She muttered as she walked over to the door. "Either both of you go back to sleep or one of you get out." She then said. Then both boys sat up and pointed at each other.

"I VOTE HIM OUT!!" They both yelled.

Sakura smacked her forehead and sighed. "How bout I vote!" She yelled. They both looked at her and she pointed to them both. "How about you BOTH stay here….and GO TO SLEEP!!!" She then yelled. Naruto lied down soon after, but Sasuke only looked at her. Then he remembered how much Naruto had blushed when he mentioned her in the same bed with him. He got an evil idea…

"Sakura…" He muttered; making her look at him slightly confused. She was just about to ask how he knew her name but stopped when he patted the spot next to him in the bed. "Come lie down with me…I won't be able to sleep…." He then said. This did two things; it made Sakura gasp and Naruto shoot up from the bed with a gaping mouth.

"What! No" Naruto said. Then he looked at Sakura. "She'd rather sleep with me right Sakura-Chan!" He asked. The two boys went back and forth asking her to lie down with them. She couldn't decide…they were both cute….but Naruto….she knew him longer. And Sasuke….well….he wasn't an idiot. They're arguing started getting to her head.

"WHY DON'T YOU BOTH LIE DOWN TOGETHER!!!" Sakura finally yelled in a panic as she grabbed her head. Both boys stared in surprise, and she dropped her hands. "Oh…I didn't mean it…I'm sor—"

"Whatever…" Naruto muttered as he lied down and flipped around. "You can have her Sasuke." He then said.

"I don't want her…" Sasuke mumbled as he lied down as well. They both had their backs to her and weren't saying a thing. At least they stopped fighting….but the problem was what she had just said.

"Guys…I'm sorry…" Sakura said. No one said anything. Sighing, the pinkette shut the door and went to walk back to her room but something to her left caught her attention. It was the red-headed girl Sasuke went to go get; Karin. "Oh…hello." Sakura greeted with a nervous smile.

"I heard Sasuke-kun asking you to sleep with him." Karin said with a neutral face. Sakura opened her eyes and shook her head ready to explain but was slammed into the wall. "If you dare touch Sasuke-kun, I will KILL YOU!" The red-head yelled. Sakura nodded and the red-head left back to her room.

"What's with her…" Sakura muttered as she clumsily walked away. She didn't even like Sasuke like that. Why would Karin think she'd even WANT to be in the same bed as him? Sakura sighed again and made her way back to the room. On her way she noticed the truck was no longer on the train tracks, but she was too tired to say anything about it and went back to bed after reaching the room.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Later that day, they opened up the bathhouse and it was full of spirits. Emi of course was hanging out with Sai and Sakura worked along with some of the other people with cleaning. She cleaned up a steam room for awhile and then she worked on wiping the floor like she and Emi did together 6 years ago.

After that, she helped Daiki dump out the buckets just like last time, but this time, Tobi wasn't standing outside. After saying goodbye to the small boy she caught a glimpse of Naruto helping with cleaning a tub. She walked over and stood in the entryway as he swept the floor. He may still be Tsunade's assistant, but he's been working like all the others. She wanted to apologize to him while he was there, but he probably was still mad at her so she walked away.

She walked down the hall and was soon dragged into another room with a tub. "Can you fill this tub up for me real quick?" The worker asked as polite as she could. "The guest has been waiting, and I need to go get some things." Sakura nodded and the worker gave her a token. After she left, Sakura looked over to the tub and saw the red-head that had pounced on her earlier that morning.

She was in a robe and was waiting for the tub to be filled. "Sorry Karin." Sakura said as she walked over to the wall. "I'll get it filled." She then said as the small door opened. She put the token on the purple string and pulled, and then it went up. She turned around after and walked over to the tub. She climbed up to the top and pulled on the rope. "When it's full I'll let you get in." Karin nodded and looked away.

"Can you get me some food too?" The red-head muttered as she looked at the entryway. "I'm starved." She then said. Sakura tugged on the rope again to stop the water and jumped down.

"Yeah, sure." She said to the other girl. "I'll have Sasuke make something while you get in." She then said. Karin nodded and climbed up the tub, and then she took the robe off and got in the tub while Sakura left. The pinkette didn't exactly like Karin, but she was a guest and she HAD to take care of a guest.

Sakura walked into the kitchen and watched the cooks complain about something not being spicy enough or too sweet. She rolled her eyes half the time she was walking through but stopped when she saw Sasuke. He was yelling at people and bossing them around. Probably doing so since he's the head of the kitchen….

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked after a few cooks left him. He looked at her and raised a brow. "Karin needs something to eat…" She then told him. He rolled his eyes and went straight to making something for the red-head to eat. She waited for him to finish what he was making and they both started walking back over to Karin's bath.

"Here Karin…" Sasuke muttered as he walked in. Sakura stood in the entryway and watched the red-head take the food off the small tray. She said something to him and he rolled his eyes before walking back over. As he walked back, he got an idea. He was still mad at Sakura for some reasons….so he thought up an evil plan. All he has to do is make her a little paranoid. "His name is Naruto huh?" He asked as he walked passed.

Sakura slightly gasped and took a step back. She went to say something but he was too far away to hear. This caught Karin's attention. 'Geez….' The pinkette thought. 'Me and my big mouth…' She went to walk away but something wrapped around her neck. "What the hell?!" The pinkette yelped as she was jerked back.

The next thing Sakura knew, she was on the tub and Karin's lips were close to her ear. "What the hell did Sasuke-kun say to you?" She asked. Sakura could hear the anger in the other girl's voice and started to panic. She reached up and grabbed what was around her neck and tried to pull, but it wouldn't let go. "Huh? What did he say?! Did he ask you to sleep with him again?!"

"Karin…." Sakura muttered. "It's not….what you think…" She couldn't breathe. Whatever was around her neck was tight, and wasn't letting her breathe. "Karin please!" The pinkette yelped as it squeezed harder. "Please! I can't breathe!!"

"I'll let go when you tell me what he said to you!"

"I….Cant…..breathe!"

At this moment, a few workers along with Emi walked by. The blonde glanced over and gasped at the sight. "Mei!!" She called as she ran in. "Let her go right now!" The blonde then said as she tried to get Sakura free. Karin only grinned and shook her head. Then right when Emi was about to yell again, another blonde appeared on top of the water. They knelt down and put their arm around Karin's neck and pulled her back. Then whatever was holding Sakura, let go and she dropped to the floor.

Karin's red eyes shook as the blonde behind her brought their lips to her ear. "Touch her again…" They whispered. "And I will kill you…" They dropped her back into the water. "You ok Mei?" They then asked.

Sakura looked over and her eyes slightly widened. Naruto….helped her? He was mad at her though. So why would he help her? "Thanks….Noon…" She muttered as she stood up. Naruto jumped down and went to say something else but the pinkette walked away.

Naruto sighed and turned around. "Bad Karin!" He barked before turning around again to walk away. The red-head crossed her arms as and lowered herself in the water; creating bubbles in the water from her grumbling.

"You…Bad…Bad…girl…"

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sakura sat on the balcony by the girl's room and stared at the ocean. Her neck hurt from what Karin did. She was surprised her neck wasn't snapped. 'Maybe…..I should just go home…' She thought sadly as she sighed. 'This place became so dangerous…' She heard someone coming up the steps and slouched a little. She knew it was Emi….coming to give her a pep talk no doubt.

Sakura closed her eyes and set her head in her crossed arms that rested on the wood. She felt the person sit down next to her and sigh themselves. But…from how Sakura heard it…..it didn't sound like Emi. It sounded more like a boy. Naruto maybe? Who knows….she didn't care at the moment. "You never answered me." They then said.

Sakura opened her eyes and slightly looked over. She was right; it was Naruto. He was leaning forward in the same position as she was and his eyes seemed to be lost in the ocean. "Sorry…." She muttered as she looked at the water too. "I'm fine….My neck hurts a little but it's ok…"

"She's a little protective of Sasuke…" Naruto muttered after. "Ever since she started coming here 3 years ago….she's been Sasuke's number one fan. And all she does is call him 'Sasuke-kun' and talk to him. She even attacked the girls that even spoke to him. You were kinda lucky she didn't go completely off on you."

"That was only a little?" Sakura asked; a little flabbergasted. Naruto nodded and she looked at the ocean again. "Geez….Whatever she did to me hurt like a bitch…" She then said. The blonde next to her chuckled and she eventually joined in. "Thanks Naruto….She would have killed me…"

"You're Welcome…" Naruto said back as he kept his eyes on the ocean. "Sakura-Chan…I think you should go home…" He then muttered; making her lightly gasp. "This place…it's been dangerous lately. And….Baa-Chan…well…she has this weird feeling…."

"Like what?" Sakura asked. Part of her wanted to go home but the other part of her wanted to stay. She liked this job….even if it didn't pay her. It gave her a place to sleep things to eat, and she could be with her friend. The other side wanted to leave only because of how Sasuke and Naruto have been acting. Along with Karin. When Naruto said she creeped him out….he wasn't kidding.

"She….just has a weird feeling." Naruto told her with a sigh. "She's been feeling this strange aura or whatever she called it….like some kind of cloud hanging over the bathhouse….she doesn't like it and she fears for the worst. I think it would be best if you went home…in case that 'thing' Tsunade senses comes." He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "I've been feeling the same thing lately…especially after I got sick. That was the weird thing…and whatever Tsunade senses…well…I have a feeling it's because of that I got so sick in the first place."

"How did it even happen?" Sakura asked after a moment. "Can spirits even get sick?" She then asked. "And what about if they get TOO sick….can they die again or what?" He looked over for the first time since he arrived and nodded.

"Spirits CAN get sick." Naruto said. "But…What happened to me was the worst ever recorded in 'Spirit' history. It was really weird, though." He sighed and looked at the ocean again. "And yea….Spirits CAN die again. Like dying as a human…you either go to Heaven or Hell…or if you're lucky you become a spirit. But when you ARE a spirit….if you die…you disappear…you don't even get to be reborn or passed on to Heaven or Hell…..you just disappear…"

"That's….sad…." Sakura muttered after the blonde's explanation. "D-does…that happen when you get old?" She then asked. The blonde nodded again and shut his eyes.

"It's the BAD part of becoming a spirit." Naruto said. They both sighed at the same time and slouched a bit.

"Is there….a way to turn a spirit back into a human?"

Naruto opened his eyes and looked over to Sakura. She was still looking at the ocean with a relaxed face. "Like….bring the spirit back to life?" He asked. She nodded and he looked out again. He put his thinking face on and thought. "Actually….I think there is…." He muttered; making her look at him with a huge smile. "But….the only person capable of doing it….is Konan….and she needs a lot of things to prepare such a spell….I think."Sakura looked at the ocean again with a sigh. "Why?" The blonde then asked as he looked at her.

"No, no, no! It's nothing" Sakura yelped as she slightly blushed. She looked away and slightly smiled. "I….was just wondering….that's all." She then said. Naruto nodded and looked forward.

"How did we get to this conversation?" The blonde then asked with a small chuckle. "Especially if we started with the fact that Karin's crazy." He started laughing, and Sakura joined in. They both laughed a little more until they both heard someone coming up the steps. They both looked and saw Emi and a few other girls. "Oh…Hey Emi." Naruto said as he stood up. "I was just leaving." He looked at Sakura and smiled. "Night Mei." He started walking away and stopped. "And…I forgive you."

Sakura smiled as he left the area and looked at Emi. "Sorry I left work so early Emi." She told her as she stood up. Emi shook her head as the lights came on and smiled at her.

"It's alright." Emi said to her. "After you left, nothing really happened. I just told Tsunade about Karin's attack and she scolded the girl." The blonde laughed as they walked into the room. "She's still here….but, she won't be in the baths tomorrow…and unlucky for you and me…we're working the dining floor."

"What's so bad about that?"

"That's were Karin will be…" Emi growled after Sakura asked this. Both 18 year olds sighed and took their over shirts off. "I guess if you have to give her anything….I suggest being very careful. That chick will NOT go easy on you if she catches you and Sasuke together again."

"Yeah….Noon was saying that she was holding back…." Sakura muttered as they rolled out their blankets. "That didn't feel like she was holding back at all." She rubbed her neck and sat on her blankets.

"Oh….Speaking of the goof…." Emi muttered as she sat down on hers. "What were you guys doing up here…" She trialed off and raised a brow at the pinkette. Sakura raised a brow in confusion and the blonde leaned in a little more. "Alone…" She then said. The pinkette slightly yelped and the blonde started laughing. "I'm just kidding Mei…relax." She said.

They both laughed and gossiped a bit more for the rest of the night. They both talked about what Naruto had said about the weird feeling. Emi mentioned having a strange feeling for awhile, but it went away after awhile. Whatever this feeling was…..no one liked it. And it all led down to Sakura. It was almost like….the feeling…means that something bad is going to happen to her….


	5. Sakura fights back

Sakura woke up the next morning tired still. 'I must have been tossing and turning all night…' She thought as she sat up. She rubbed her shoulder and looked around. The only other person in the room was Emi and she was already up and cleaning the room. "Emi?" She asked, making the blonde look over. "Did I…you know…roll around a lot last night?" She asked while pointing at the bed she slept in.

"Yeah…." Emi told her after shutting the small closet's door. "I think you were nervous about something…" She then said as she helped her up. "You kept rolling around and muttering stuff….I have no idea what it was though…."

Sakura sighed and stretched. Maybe it was the feeling. All the bad things that were '_maybe_' going to happen to her. She had no idea what though. Maybe the feeling was Karin. She '_was_' dangerous and she had almost chocked her to death the other day. Naruto was right, Karin was very creepy. She was '_very_' protective over Sasuke and even the slightest things Sakura did around him set her off.

"Come on….We have to get to work…" Emi muttered as she started to walk downstairs. Today was the day. They were going to serve in the eating rooms on the floor right below the sleeping rooms. Karin isn't allowed to leave her room and go to the baths so she was going to be there most likely. Thinking about Karin and her attack made the pinkette stop at the beginning of the steps. She….was scared.

"E-Emi…" Sakura muttered to get the blonde's attention. Emi; at the foot of the stairs looked up and smiled; telling her that she was ready to listen. "I'm gonna stay up here a little longer, just to get myself….ready." The pinkette then said with a smile. Emi nodded and was soon out of sight leaving Sakura at the top of the stairs.

The pinkette took a breath and walked back over to the room. She leaned on the wooden bar and stared out onto the ocean waters. They were so calming…the sound of the waves crashing against the bathhouse and the seagulls singing as they danced above the water. "Karin isn't '_that_' scary…" She muttered to herself. "Right…."

Sakura shut her eyes and let out a deep breath. Today was going to be a long day…she knew it. Just like all the other days so far. They've been quite long…well except for the other day when Karin nearly killed her. That one….was quick. She opened her eyes and sat up. "Alright Sakura you can do this!" She yelled to herself. "Karin wont touch you as long as you stay away from her!"

The pinkette turned to run down the stairs on the other side of the room and did so. When she got to the bottom she watched people run over to the tubs and smirked. She didn't have to touch not even 1 tub today. She was lucky. Sakura made her way into an elevator and went down ready; ready for whatever will be thrown at her.

When the doors opened, it revealed the hall with the eating rooms on the sides. Sakura had been here 3 other times so far. Counting the time she and the radish spirit were going up and stopped here 6 years ago. She stepped out and smiled to one of the workers with a tray of food. Then she made her way to the end where the see through doors started. When she arrived there she glanced out to the ocean and smiled.

"There you are Mei."

Sakura glanced over to her left and saw Emi holding a tray. "Today's a busy day in the eating hall so you have to be on your toes." The blonde muttered as she walked over. She handed Sakura the tray she held and pointed to a small paper on the side. "Take this tray to the door with the same number, that's where the spirits that ordered this are." She told her. "Then go back to the kitchen and pick another tray up and do exactly the same."

Sakura nodded with a smile. "Got it!" She then said. Emi smiled back and made her way back to the kitchen. This was going to be just like the café she and Hinata worked at. This was going to be a synch. The pinkette looked at the number and read it over.

23

'Room 23' Sakura thought as she looked up. She glanced at the closest door and saw that it said '_29_' so she glanced down the hall leading to the elevator. Room 23 must have been down there. She started walking down and looked at the top of each door. As she went on, the number's got smaller. _28, 27, 26, 25, 24, 23_. There….that was her door. Sakura turned to her right and slid the door open while balancing the tray on her left arm. She handed the tray to one of the spirits and told him to enjoy before shutting the door again.

Quite an odd spirit. It looked like a toad, but it was much bigger. He even had a shirt on and his '_brother'_ or '_cousin'_ she didn't exactly know who the yellow toad was to the red one but; he was eating….a lot. Sakura smiled as she made her way to the kitchen. It was on the way back to where she met Emi with that tray. It must have been a short cut and she knew it was the kitchen since people were coming out of the clothed door with food trays.

Sakura entered and looked around to see where the trays were. When her eyes finally found them, she strolled over and grabbed it. Then she read the small note. It said '_20_' so she walked out and made her way back down the hall. Then she turned right and passed the room with the two toads. _23, 22, 21, 20_. She stopped and slid the door open.

Sakura made a disgusted face. It was….a slug. It looked like the slug that Tsunade put inside Naruto to control him. But it was soon gone when he spit it out 6 years ago. "Here…." She muttered as she set the tray of the odd looking food down. "Enjoy…" The pinkette shut the door and turned around with wide eyes. She'd never seen such a big slug. It was disgusting.

With a sigh, the pinkette made her way back to the kitchen. This time, when she went in, she didn't see Sasuke. Last time he was behind the stove cooking up some meals and now he and a few other chefs were gone. With a raised brow, Sakura took the next tray and looked at the note. What it said froze her. Her green eyes widened and her mouth opened to speak.

_Guest Karin's room_

Karin wasn't in an eating room?! Sakura's wide eyes looked around franticly for someone else. No one was around. It was the only time she actually needed them and they were all outside of the kitchen. She needed someone else to deliver the food. She '_needed_' someone to take it to Karin for her. When she stepped out of the kitchen she held the tray out to someone. "P-Please take this for me…." She begged. The person only shook their heads sadly and told her that they needed to do their job before walking into the kitchen.

The pinkette gulped and started down the hallway. She passed the hall that led to the elevator and kept walking. She walked up the steps that led to the upper level and started walking down the hall that was hugged by rooms. She passed Naruto and Sasuke's room and stopped a few more doors down. Karin's door was wide open and she was sitting on her futon talking to 3 cooks.

One was Sasuke.

Sakura gulped as she stood in the door way. She might have had something else that tasted strange so she called the 3 of them to talk. But surly she wasn't going to punish her dear '_Sasuke-kun'_…right? Karin noticed her standing in the doorway and shooed the 3 off. But that wasn't the only thing Sakura noticed.

After Sasuke noticed her he had whispered something to the other cook. The cook that he had whispered to was in front as the 3 followed each other out. He was planning something again, and she knew it….but what? As the cook walked by, he gently knocked the tray out of her hands. She hadn't been paying much attention to him, so as she blushed in complete embarrassment, she was thinking that it had slipped from her own actions.

As Sasuke began to walk out, he knelt down and started to help her pick the things up. Sakura was still blushing with embarrassment as they both stood up. "Be careful Sakura." Sasuke muttered before walking away. Sakura nodded; still blushing. She didn't care that he called her by her name anymore….as long as it wasn't around anyone else.

Karin had her eyes glued to her nails the whole time, but when she finally looked over to the door. She saw Sasuke mutter something to Sakura after helping and the pinkette was…blushing. Her red eyes widened and she stood up, just as Sakura went to go get another tray for her. She held up her right hand and narrowed her eyes. Her fingers turned transparent and shot out towards the girl. They wrapped around her neck; causing her to drop the tray again, and pulled her into the room.

"I knew it!" Karin yelped as Sakura was presented in front of her. The pinkette was gasping for air and her feet were desperately reaching for the ground that was 2 feet down. "I knew you had the hots for Sasuke-kun! I will kill you pinky!"

"Karin!" Sakura gasped. "I don't love Sasuke!" She grabbed the fingers around her neck and started to pull. But nothing she did was working. This was what had happened last time. People outside the door were watching in horror. They couldn't do a thing.

"Tch!" Karin slammed Sakura into the wall and moved a bit closer. "Well then! If you don't love Sasuke-kun! Then who could you possibly love?!" Her red eyes narrowed and her glare became more deadly. As did her grip.

Sakura opened her eyes and showed that she was in much pain. Then they widened. "I…I don't know…" She answered. Karin made the same pissed sound and slammed her into the wall again. "I don't love anyone!" Sakura yelped as her own saliva started to drip down her chin. She still could barley breathe. And her mouth couldn't shut. If it did, then she wouldn't be able to breathe. Even if it was small short breaths.

The red-head was even angrier at this and her eyes widened. "LIES!!" She screamed. "I KNOW THERE'S SOMEONE! YOUR JUST SAYING THAT SO I DON'T KNOW YOU REALLY LOVE SASUKE-KUN!!" She squeezed harder around Sakura's neck and the pinkette let out a painful gasp.

"I Don't!" Sakura gasped. She wasn't lying. The past few years, she thought she was in love with Naruto. But after what's been happening the past few days….she just didn't know anymore. "I don't love….anyone!" Karin grinded her teeth and narrowed her eyes once again. Then she brought Sakura away from the wall. The pinkette shut her eyes and smiled in relief; thinking that it was over, but she was then thrown out of the room and smashed through the see through doors while Karin screamed…

"LIAR!!!!!!!"

Sakura was now being suspended in mid air by Karin's finger's as she stood inside the bathhouse. The pinkette knew what was underneath her. 50 feet below her, the ocean crashed. But Karin wasn't stupid; she had held her right above the train tracks, so that when she dropped her; she'd defiantly die. "Karin! Please!" Sakura pleaded as she started to move around. Karin grinned evilly and squeezed harder on Sakura's neck. This made the pinkette gasp in pain again. Then she heard yells of surprise from the left and looked. Her red eyes widened.

A fox; the size of Akamaru, with nine tails charged down the hall with pure red eyes. Karin gasped as she was tackled down and dragged into a room down the hall. But as this happened, the finger's let go of Sakura and she started to descend down to the ocean. Her eyes shut; with the sight of Naruto tackling Karin down etched into her memory. It would be the last thing she saw, she knew it. She had 20 more feet to go.

A see through door to her right flung open and made her eyes open again. She looked over and gasped as Naruto jumped out and grabbed her. The momentum of him going more to the left; pushed Sakura and him well…more to the left; barley missing the train tracks and landing in the water. When they both surfaced she noticed Naruto looking up; then he looked down with a smile. "You ok Sakura-Chan?"

Sakura nodded. 'How did he do that?!' She thought. She looked over to the door he jumped out of and then the opening where she hung. 'How in the hell…did he charge Karin into another room as a fox and then jump out of a door and save me as a human 3 floors down…all in one second?!' She was giving the blonde a confused face and he raised a brow; ready to ask why but a yell from above got his attention.

"NOON!"

Naruto and Sakura both glanced up and saw Emi. She was looking at him as she pointed down the hall. Most likely pointing to the room Karin was in. "You better get your ass back up here and deal with this!" Emi yelled. Naruto sighed and nodded. Then he looked at Sakura and smiled.

"Alright…come on Sakura-Chan…" He grabbed her hand and they both swam over to the train tracks. He helped her up onto them and she slowly made her way onto his back. She was still thinking about how he had saved her like that. It was almost like he was in two places at once. Or…he had just learned how to teleport or move really fast.

He jumped to the nearest balcony and set her down there. "Get some rest Sakura-Chan…" He muttered with a smile. "I'm sorry Karin keeps doing this to you, but I'll make sure she doesn't do it again. I promise." Sakura nodded and he winked before disappearing. She blinked. So that must have been how he did it. Sakura looked up to the destroyed area and he appeared on the rail before jumping inside.

Sakura sighed and looked at the wooden rail in her grip. Then her green eyes glanced over to her hands. She was shaking. Closing her eyes and walking away; she mentally cursed at herself. She was so weak. She knew she was a human, but for a human, she didn't do much. Then it hit her.

Sakura remembered that she had smacked Naruto the other day. He had hit the side of the wall really hard and didn't expect it to hurt so much. She glanced at her hands as she walked. Were her healing hands…more then just healing hands? They started to glow green and she glanced at the nearest see through door. She punched it, but nothing much happened. Then when the green faded she sighed and kept walking.

'I can't believe how useless I am.' She thought. 'I keep getting in trouble while Naruto always has to save me.' She smacked her forehead and rubbed it in frustrating. The place was getting very dangerous. She had nearly died back there; but the thing is….that dark cloud that was making everyone feel weird…well it was starting to get to her. She had almost died…and it wasn't gone. Why? Was something worse going to happen? She was paranoid now.

Every step Sakura took, she glanced in all directions. Her emerald eyes as wide as day. Nothing was going to happen. Nothing! She wouldn't let it. She strolled passed the girls dorms and looked in there. No one was in there. The only things in there were futons that girls forgot to put away. She kept walking.

What was going to happen to her? She couldn't stop asking herself as she strolled down the stairs, her eyes still wide. She heard someone behind her and looked over. It was nothing. She kept walking down; she didn't know exactly where she was going but she was getting somewhere. There was another sound and this time it startled her; enough to make her foot slip.

* * *

Iruka sighed after taking a drink of tea. He used to have water, but Emi started bringing down tea for him. He pulled on a few levers as the soot balls carried the coal over and into the boiler. Then when there were no tokens, he'd sit back and take another drink of his tea. After a moment of relaxing the small door to his right opened up and a pink haired girl entered.

"Sakura?" He asked in concern. She was limping and holding her right arm as she came over, "Sakura, what happened? Are you alright?" Iruka asked as he jumped off his chair. Sakura leaned on the far wall and sat down, and then she nodded.

"I…Fell down the stairs." She told him as he handed her his tea. She took a drink of it and handed it back. "I've been suffering a little paranoia…" The pinkette then said as she glanced over to the soot balls. "I…I thought someone was following me when I was going down the stairs, and I slipped."

Iruka sighed and pointed to her arm. "Is it broken?" He asked. She looked at him and shook her head. "Just sore?" She nodded at that question. "And your leg…" He trailed off and pointed to her left leg; the one she was limping on. "What about that…"

"Sore too…" Sakura answered with a sigh. "Iruka? Have…have you been having a strange feeling lately?" She then asked. Iruka didn't understand the question at first but when she explained that everyone else had a strange feeling, he started to understand.

"Ooo…That weird feeling." Iruka muttered as he sat down in front of her. "Well ever since the night of the dance, it's been coming and going. I didn't think much of it but now that you mention it…I have felt it. And it gets a little stronger when you're around."

"That's what everyone's been saying." Sakura said after this. She was right. Everyone that had said that they felt a strange feeling had also said it got a little stronger when she was around. That's why everyone believes something bad was going to happen to her. "Bad things have been happening to me lately….I almost died today and that feeling hasn't left. I even feel it now…that's why I'm paranoid. That's why I feel down the stairs!"

"Sakura…calm down please." Iruka muttered as he handed her the tea again. She took a drink of it immediately and he sighed. 'What am I gonna do…..' He thought. 'She's clearly paranoid even if she didn't tell me….I know! I should give her a talk; by the time she gets out of here she won't be paranoid any longer!'

* * *

Naruto slouched in a chair with his eyes glued to the chair before him. Karin sat in the other. She was tied up and didn't look very happy. Tsunade had asked him to keep an eye on her as she was speaking with Shizune in the other room. He could have said no but he promised Sakura that Karin wouldn't hurt her again. They were glaring at each other. Seeing who would snap first. He couldn't believe that she did that to Sakura. Tsunade wasn't even going to kick her out and make her go home…he knew it. He saw Karin grin.

"I thought you were going to kill me?"

This made him snap. He stood up and stormed over before reaching down to grab the rope. Then he pulled her up and stared into her eyes ready to give her a piece of his mind. His mouth snapped open but so did Shizune's door. They both glanced over as Tsunade stared at them both. "Noon….you already hurt her enough." She muttered as she sat down.

Naruto snorted and threw Karin back into the seat, before sitting down in his. Karin had been shooting mean comments at him the whole time they were sitting there. But that one did it. Of course he would have killed her but Tsunade prevented it. He hated Karin, he hated everything about her and now just because of what he did to Sakura; he hated her even more.

"Karin…." Tsunade muttered as Shizune walked out of her office. "Because of your actions and because your stay here won't end in a month, I'm giving you room suspension." Tsunade then said.

"SAY WHAT?!"

Karin was as mad as ever. Naruto could see that she was trying to kill the bathhouse owner with her '_magic'_ fingers. But the rope was tied around them; resulting in a squirming red-head. Naruto sighed and rested his cheek on his fist as he watched Karin wiggle like a worm in her chair. He giggled at times but when she finally stopped he did as well. "You are not to leave your room unless I say so." Tsunade said. Then she looked up and gave Karin a glare. "Understood?"

The red-head nodded and looked away with a huff. "That's what you get…." Naruto muttered as he shut his eyes. Karin's eyes glared in his direction; asking him in a cold manner, '_what did you just say?!_' Naruto opened his eyes and nodded. "You heard me Karin, I told you I'd kill you if you touched Sakura again, but since Baa-Chan isn't letting me do so, then I guess this is the worst possible thing you deserve."

Karin tried to stand and attack him but the rope was preventing her from doing so. Oh how she hated that blonde. She loathed him; despised him. Any word that meant hate; then that would describe how she felt about him. "Baka Yourou…" She muttered gaining his attention.

"AH! Baa-Chan!" Naruto yelped as he stood up and pointed to the red-head. "She just called me a Stupid Bastard!" He pointed to Karin and seemed to be pouting as she stuck her tongue at him. "She's only doing this 'cause she knows I can't hit her!" He started hoping from one foot to the other as he pointed; like he was a child wanting to pee.

Tsunade looked up and shook her head. "Get out Noon…" She then muttered. Naruto sighed and made his way over to the door. But on his way he pushed the chair over and made Karin fall.

"Geez Karin…" Naruto muttered as he opened the door. "You should be careful when you're fidgeting around like that." He gave a slight evil chuckle as Karin rolled around the floor squealing in anger before he disappeared behind the now closed door.

* * *

Sakura smiled as she waited for the elevator. Iruka had given her a long talk and now she was ready to do anything. No matter what happened she was going to use her fists. The doors to the elevator opened and she went to step through but someone was inside. "Oh…Hello Naruto." She greeted with a smile.

Naruto was just about to step out, but stopped. "Oh….Hey Sakura-Chan…." He muttered as she stepped inside. He stepped out and faced her. "What were you doing all the way down here?" He then asked.

"That's what I should be asking you."

The blonde opened his mouth and narrowed his eyes before pointing a finger. "Actually I was just going to say hi to Iruka." He told her as she reached for the lever. She raised a brow and grinned.

"Well ok then, I was doing the same thing." Sakura stated while raising both eyebrows. Then when he was just about to ask about the bruise on her knee she pulled the trigger and went up. He huffed and turned around.

When he arrived at the small door, Naruto opened it and slid inside quietly. The day was now over so it was getting close to bedtime. "Yo Iruka…I'm back for another night…" He greeted as Iruka was setting up his futon. The older man sighed and walked over to a drawer to take out another futon.

"Did Sasuke kick you out again?" Iruka asked as Naruto lied his bed down. The blonde nodded and Iruka sat down with a sigh. "Geez…When is Tsunade gonna give you two separate rooms?" He asked.

Naruto only shrugged and lied down. "I don't know…" He muttered as he shut his eyes. "She only put us in the same room because '_we need more rooms for the guests'_" He said the last bit in an impression of an old woman's voice. He rolled his eyes and rolled over to look at the small door. As soon as he started to shut his eyes again; the small door flew open. "AH!" He shot up in surprise.

"IRUKA WE NEED TO TALK!"

Tsunade was charging straight for them until she realized Naruto was there. "Naruto…what are you…." She trailed off as her eyes narrowed. "BACK TO YOUR ROOM!" She then yelped after a moment. Naruto stood up as she pointed to the small door.

"But Baa-Chan, Sasuke kicked me ou—"

"I don't care! Just get out!" Tsunade yelled. Naruto immediately nodded and grabbed the futon and the blankets. He was soon out the door with all of Iruka's extra sleeping supplies making the man sigh. It wasn't even anything important. She just wanted him gone so they could talk about Karin and something about her escaping, but then when she did start to get a little serious he realized '_why' _kicked him out.

"Sakura is in danger…"

* * *

"So you fell down the stairs?" Emi asked as the girls set up their futons. Sakura nodded with a smile and the blonde shook her head. "Geez Mei…you gotta be more careful" When Sakura had arrived the first thing Emi had noticed was the bruise on her knee. She kept asking about it but Sakura wouldn't tell her, but after awhile, the pinkette finally gave in and told her.

"I'm fine really." Sakura laughed as she rubbed the back of his head. "Just a bruise here and there but I'll be able to work tomorrow don't worry." She smiled even more as Emi decided to shake her head even more.

"Mei! You were nearly choked to death one day and then today you get dropped outside the bathhouse and fall to your death. '_Then_' you fall down the stairs and get bruises all over! Mei you're a walking bad luck charm!" Emi was telling all the truth but Sakura only laughed.

"Yeah" She said. "But I can handle it don't worry!" She set her hands on her hips. Then she made a fist and closed one eye. "I have another ability along with the healing, once I figure it out I'll be using it." She then said. Emi rolled her eyes and lied down in her bed.

"Whatever Mei…" Emi said as she shut her eyes. Sakura smiled and went to lie down on her futon but something caught her eye. Naruto….he was looking around the corner and seemed to be giving her puppy dog eyes.

Sakura sat back up and walked over. She walked around the corner and raised a brow. "What do you want – and what's with the futon and blankets?" She pointed to the pile of sleeping supplies that where behind him and he chuckled nervously.

"Well you see Sakura-Chan…" Naruto began. "The real reason why I went to Iruka was because I got kicked out of the room by Sasuke. Then, Tsunade came in to talk with Iruka so she kicked me out of there" He set his hand down and his head hung in sadness. "Now I have nowhere to sleep, there was no room in the boys' dorm…."

"You want to stay in here?" Sakura asked. His head sprung up and he nodded with a big smile. "Alright…let me ask." She turned around and got all the girls attention. "Can Noon stay in here tonight? I'll have him sleep against the far wall by me so none of 'you' have to. He doesn't have any other place and he even brought his own futon." Naruto held his futon out with a smile to show the girls that Sakura wasn't lying.

"Fine…"

Sakura and Naruto both smiled after each girl answered. Then Sakura helped him take his things over to the far wall to set up. They both lied his futon down, and then his pillow and blanket. "Thanks Mei…" He said as they both sat on the beds. As soon as he was sitting, he was surrounded by girls. "AH!"

Sakura sighed and lied down on her bed as the girls kept talking to the blonde. They were talking about Sasuke and what it was like to live in the same room as him. And then after while, they all started to flirt with him slightly. Her green eyes shot open and she grabbed the closest girl. "Stop! Go to bed!" She looked at them all. "All of you now!"

Each girl nodded and quickly scampered to their beds. Then the pinkette glanced over to Naruto and lightly gasped. She hadn't realized what they were doing to him. He was giving her an emotionless stare as some of his hair was in small ponytails "Thank…You…" He muttered. She nodded and started taking the hair ties out. He might have thought she stopped them because of what they were doing, but she had only done it because the flirting was getting to her.

"Good night Noon." Sakura then said as they both lied down. Naruto said it back and they both rolled over to their backs were to each other. Then when the lights shut off, sleep took them both victim and they were soon drifted away in their dreams; until Sakura heard something an hour or so later.

The pinkette sat up and looked around. Everyone was still asleep. Then she looked at Naruto. He was slightly drooling and oddly she found it….cute. Shaking the feeling of blood in her cheek, she stood up and walked out of the room. She needed to find out what that sound was. Walking around the corner, she spotted the stairs. If she went down, she'd find herself going to the kitchen, dining hall and tub room. But if she went up, she'd find guest rooms.

Maybe it was a guest. What if they couldn't sleep? She could probably help. She started going up stairs and glanced down the hall before completely entering it. After a moment, she started walking and looking. Then a shadowed person appeared. Her eyes widened. "Karin?!"

The red-head herself was standing in the middle of the hallway and was smiling evilly. "Hello pinky…" She growled as the moonlight lit half her face. "I've been looking for you…"

Sakura raised a brow. She wasn't afraid anymore. She gripped her fists and smiled back. "Oh yeah…" She started. Karin slowly nodded. "What for….." She then said as her own smile became more evil like.

"To kill you."

Sakura wasn't fazed. She only smiled more. Then after a moment, Karin started running towards her. "I may be a human Karin." Sakura muttered as her fists started glowing green. "But I do have tricks up my sleeve." As soon as Karin threw a fist, the pinkette stepped to the left and brought her fist back. "I'm not scared of you anymore." She threw the punch and Karin went flying through the side doors and outside.

Grinning, Sakura jumped onto the rails and watched Karin stand up on the train tracks. Then she jumped making the red-head gasp. "You're only going to kill yourself!" She yelled as Sakura brought back her fist.

"Not if I do this!" Sakura yelled as she punched the train tracks. Karin gasped as rubble and rocks went flying. The ground below her crumbled beneath her feet and she fell over. Her eyes were wide as Sakura looked up with an evil grin of her own. "Karin….You aren't the one killing tonight."

* * *

Naruto rolled over and threw his arm on Sakura's futon mumbling her name. Then when he realized it was empty he had his hand make sure there was nothing in it before opening his eyes. He slightly sat up and looked around. Sakura wasn't anywhere to be found. Then he looked at her futon. He reached over and lifted her tiny pillow. She wasn't there.

Then his blue eyes looked over to the door. It was opened wide and the moonlight was peeking inside the room. "Did Sakura-Chan leave?" Naruto muttered as he stood up. Then he walked out of the room and started searching the halls. He walked up the steps as he followed her scent. He knew it so well and to him it was very strong. He felt like a tracking dog.

He walked down the hall Sakura had traveled down and then noticed spirits all looking outside the see through doors in shock. Or at least what used to be see through doors. Naruto ran over and planted both hands on the rail to see what they were all looking at; then he gasped.

Below the train track was completely destroyed in one part and a little ahead of it, Sakura was swinging punches at Karin; who was barely dodging each one. Then Sakura hit the train tracks again; destroying it….once again. "WHAT THE HELL?!" Naruto yelped as the pinkette went back to swinging punches at the red-head. "No wonder why that slap hurt so much…." He then muttered as he rubbed his cheek.

Then after a moment of remembering her slapping him, he shook his head and jumped over the rail. Then he soon landed on the train tracks and started running towards the two girls. He jumped over the destroyed gaps in the ground and narrowed his eyes. They both swung punches at the same time and he disappeared

"What?"

They both asked this at the same time as Naruto suddenly appeared in between them; grabbing both of their fists with his own hands. He opened his eyes and glared at Karin with not blue eyes; but red. She yelped at the demonic eyes and tried to back away but he held her fist with no mercy of letting go. Sakura was slightly confused of why the red-head was so scared all of a sudden and then he looked at her with his blue eyes.

"Sakura-Chan…" Naruto muttered as Karin struggled to get away. "What are you doing? You should be in bed." He then said with a smile. In bed? Why wasn't '_he_' in bed? And how did he stop her fist? Naruto was full of surprises lately. He let go of her fist and pulled Karin over to hold her. "Now..I'm gonna take her back to Baa-Chan, can you find your way back?" The blonde asked. Sakura nodded and he nodded back as he threw Karin over his shoulder. Then he and the red-head disappeared.

* * *

Naruto appeared on the hand rails on Tsunade's balcony. Karin was squirming a lot and he was happy to get rid of her. When he walked inside he saw the blonde woman pacing. "Hey Baa-Chan…" He muttered; getting the woman's attention. "I brought Karin back for ya." He gestured his head over to the red-head's butt, since it was the only thing she could see while she was over his shoulder.

"Where was she?!" Tsunade yelped as Naruto set Karin down in a chair. Tsunade waved her hand and the red eyed girl was tied in a rope again. "Is Sakura alright?" She then asked. Karin looked at her with a confused face saying '_Who the hell is Sakura?_' Naruto nodded and looked at the ground.

"She actually has another ability." Naruto told her. "It's just like your strength Baa-Chan. Exactly like it. She destroyed the train tracks and another part of the bathhouse." He told her. Tsunade's eyes were wide. Sakura had super strength '_and_' healing hands?! Then after a moment of thought, Tsunade nodded and walked over to the balcony. She looked at the destroyed train tracks to the far left and sighed before waving her hand.

The train tracks were as good as new when she walked back in. "That's two floors destroyed. Karin. I'll be sending you home as soon as I can!" She yelled. Then she looked at Naruto. "You're dismissed."

Naruto nodded and walked out of the office. He was finally happy that Sakura was safe from Karin. Even the feeling….the dark cloud….it kinda went away. He was happy as he went down the elevator. Then when the door opened he stepped put and looked at the ocean. "Maybe after Karin's gone, Sakura-Chan will finally be safe enough to stay…" He muttered as he walked back the girls' dorm.

When he arrived no one had woken up. Sakura was lying down in her blankets and had her eyes shut. He didn't know if she was awake or asleep. Then with a slight smile, he walked over and lied down in his futon next to hers. He stared at the ceiling half the night. He started to feel slightly sick but that could have been from using so much power lately. Especially today.

A lot happened and he was tired. Sakura was probably worse though. He rolled over to face Sakura and smiled. She was smiling as she now faced him. Her knuckles were slightly bleeding but it didn't seem to do anything to her. Staring at her sleeping face made him think about their goodbye 6 years ago. She had kissed him ever so gently on the lips before running off and from that day forward he's been saving his lips to re-experience that kiss one more time….if he was lucky…maybe even more then that.

He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. Without Karin around, tomorrow was going to be a smooth day. Unlike the rest of them, they were actually going to be safe for his precious pinkette. She wasn't going to get attacked by Karin for anything….nothing will.


	6. I request that you love me

The first thing Sakura saw when she opened her eyes was Naruto's sleeping face. She blushed slightly and looked away. He was smiling….like they were some kind of couple in the same bed. He wasn't drooling with a wide open mouth like before she left the night before. He was just smiling, with his arms at his side. She reached forward and pocked the blonde's cheek; still looking away. It was getting close to 'wake up' time and she had to wake him so people wouldn't think the wrong things. She didn't love him …right? And she didn't want people thinking she did…or did she?

Shaking her head, Sakura sat up and looked around. No one was awake, or waking up. 'Strange…' She then thought as she glanced at Emi. 'Shouldn't everyone be getting up right now?' She looked at Naruto and noticed he turned over. She stood up and made her way around all the other girls. When she left the room, she slid the door shut behind her and turned to stare at the ocean. The pinkette liked to do this when she was alone and had nothing else to do, so she was going to do this till everyone woke.

Sakura shut her eyes and leaned on the wooden hand rail. Footsteps rung through her mind. But she didn't feel them. The ground would be slightly vibrating if there were footsteps. Was she losing her mind again? The pinkette opened her eyes and looked right. No one was coming around the corner, so she looked left. Still there was no one. So…who would be walking? Who was it? Was she paranoid again? After that she realized….The dark cloud; the feeling….it was completely gone.

'What else is waiting for me…' Sakura thought as she started to back away from the edge. She reached up and grabbed her head as more footsteps rung in her head. 'No….Leave me alone…' She thought. She could feel someone creeping closer. But from where? 'Leave me alone…' Sakura shut her eyes. Then someone put their hand on her shoulder; making her shudder in fear. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Sakura?"

The pinkette opened her eyes and twirled around to see a tiered blonde. He rubbed his right eye. "Sakura-Chan…Sorry…" Naruto muttered. "I'll leave you alone…" He turned around and went to go back to sleep but she grabbed his arm.

"No Naruto…" Sakura mumbled. "I…I thought you were someone else." She then told him with a small smile. He was looking over his shoulder and smiled back. "C-Can you sit with me until everyone else wakes up?" The pinkette then asked. Naruto nodded and they both sat down with their legs hanging over the balcony's edge.

They both looked at the ocean together for while and Sakura tried to drown out the voice in her head. '_Sakura…'_ It said. '_Sakura Haruno…'_ It kept saying this over and over in her head. It was faint so she at least thought it was saying that. Terrified what was going to happen next, the pinkette grabbed Naruto's arm and pulled herself close.

"Sakura-Chan?" Naruto asked. "Are you ok? You look like someone's out to get you." He looked at her face with concern as she stared forward. As soon as she did, she hut her eyes with a slight nod. "Sakura-Chan, Karin's being sent home today, so nothing will happen. Even if something does I'll save you."

Sakura opened her eyes and saw that he was smiling at her. Would he really? What if he couldn't? Then what would happen? The pinkette nodded and looked over her shoulder as the door started to slide open. She pulled herself away from Naruto's arm and smile to the blonde that came through the door. "Ohayo Emi," Sakura said with a smile.

Emi yawned and waved slightly. "Ohayo…" She looked at Naruto and said it again to him. He smiled at her and repeated the words to her. "So…Mei…I heard you leave last night." The blonde girl said as she walked over. "Then after a few minutes, Noon left." She pointed to Naruto and he smiled. "You know…at first I thought you 2 were doing something…" Sakura and Naruto both blushed at this and looked away. "But Noon came back about 10 or 15 minutes after you did….unless…" She eyed Sakura with a sly grin. "You only did that…because you knew I was watching."

"EMI!"

Emi busted up laughing at the sight of the pinkette's blood rushed face. "Take a chill pill girl." She joked. "I was only kidding." She started laughing a little more and Naruto joined in; mostly to let them know he was still there. "So anyway….What happened?" Emi then asked after awhile.

"It's nothing Emi.." Sakura muttered as she looked away again. "I…just needed to take a walk…and I'm pretty sure Noon just needed to pee." Emi went to say something else, but then the doors slid open revealing a bunch of awake girls.

"Leave Noon! Where getting dressed!"

Naruto nodded and stood up with a nervous smile. The girls were scary sometimes. "S-Sorry…" He muttered before walking around the corner. He made his way over to his room with a frown plastered on his face. 'Damn….' He thought with a grumpy look. 'Emi just had to ruin me and Sakura-Chan's moment….' He sighed as he went down the elevator. When it opened, he walked out and eyed the dining rooms. The doors were open and they were empty. All except 2 or 3. Those were the early birds of the bathhouse.

"Ohayo Naruto…."

The blonde stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder. The only other person in the bathhouse besides Sakura, Tsunade, and Shizune that knew his name was none other then the '_great_' Sasuke Uchiha. "Ohayo…Teme…" Naruto grumbled before walking away.

Sasuke bit his lip. He hated it when Naruto called him that. He handed the early spirits their food and shot a glare at the blonde before walking back to the kitchen. Making a quick hand sign first.

When Naruto arrived in the room he put some clean clothes on and soon made his way back out. After sliding the door shut behind him, the same dizzy feeling returned to him as before when he had fallen ill. He reached his hand behind him to lean on the door and set his free hand on his forehead. Why was this happening? He hated it.

"Hey Boss."

Naruto looked to his right and saw the black haired boy that had been calling him boss since they met. Daiki was his name. But Naruto still remembered the kid's real name. It was Konohamaru. "Hey Daiki…Ohayo…" The blonde said to him with a weak smile.

"Ohayo?" Daiki asked. "Why would you be saying that? Look at you? This is a '_bad_' morning for you!" He walked over as Naruto slowly slid down the door to sit. "You look terrible boss. Are you feeling sick again?"

Naruto slightly nodded and dropped his hand. "I'm…just going to sit here for a few minutes." He told the small black haired boy. "It will go away in a little while…It's not as bad as last time." He shut his eyes and relaxed himself. If he waited…Kyuubi would help him feel better in no time.

"Ok Boss." Daiki said with a smile. "I'll hang around here with ya." He sat down next to Naruto and stared forward as people started coming out of the rooms to go to the baths. The only door that didn't open was Karin's door from down the hall.

"Is he alright?"

Daiki looked up and saw Sai; the emotionless spirit. He was slightly smiling. His emotion was slowly returning. "Yea…" The boy told him. "He just needs a little rest is all." Sai nodded and looked at the blonde. He looked a little feverish then just needing rest, but he was a worker so it might have been caused my stress.

"Ok then, Good Day…"

Sai nodded the small boy off and was soon gone. Daiki looked at Naruto and sighed. "Boss, maybe you should go lie do—"

"I'm fine…"

Daiki flinched, as the blonde opened his eyes. The feverishness went away slightly and he stood up. "But Boss…." The black haired boy mumbled as Naruto walked away. "What if you fall and kill yourself?"

"I'll be fine Daiki!" Naruto called with his hand in the air. The black haired boy sighed after that and left. The truth though…was that Naruto still felt sick. It was a miracle that he was even walking. He walked inside an elevator and leaned on the wall. When the doors closed his happy '_I'm alright'_ look went away. He shut his eyes and held himself. He can't fall ill again. He just can't…

When the doors opened he stood up straight and tried the best he could to stay pain free looking. To his 'bad' luck it was Sakura. The only girl in the whole bathhouse who could actually tell when he wasn't feeling well. 'Great….' He thought as she walked in and pulled the lever. 'I have to back down….with the girl I love….and she's going to find out I'm feeling sick again…' He looked at her and saw that she was looking back. 'In…exactly…3…2…1—"

"Naruto look at you!" Sakura yelped as she set her things down. "You look terrible! Are you feeling sick again?" Naruto sighed as she set a hand on his forehead. How did he know this was coming? "Naruto you have a fever again?" The pinkette mumbled as she put a wet towel on his head.

"Eh?! Where did that come from?!" Naruto yelped as she set her glowing hands on his forehead. "Sakura-Chan…I'm fine" The blonde grumbled. Sakura shook her head and knelt down to go through her bag right before the door opened. 'I'll just find a different elevator…' He then thought as he snuck out.

"Alright…" Sakura started as she stood up. "Huh? Where'd you go Naruto?" She asked as she looked around. She stepped out and looked down the eating hall. Naruto wasn't there so she shrugged and put the bag around her shoulder before heading down the hall. She was going to work in the eating hall again today and Karin wasn't going to be a problem any longer. Sakura smiled proudly and passed room 20, but as soon as she did, the door slid open, a hand reached out, and it grabbed her before pulling her in.

"Sup Mei!"

Sakura opened her eyes and saw three boys sitting across from her. She knew two of them, but the third was a mystery to her. "H-Hi there Kiba, Sai….and…" She pointed to the third. He had a pony tail and seemed to be a little lazy. "Who are you?" She asked; making him look over.

"That's Shikamaru!" Kiba yelped with a large smile. "He's considered the '_genius_' spirit." He laughed at this and the boy known as Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"I'm the spirit that keeps an eye on the clouds." Shikamaru told her. "I'm the '_genius_' spirit only because I'm smart….apparently." He rolled his eyes and eyed the canine spirit who was watching Sai draw something. Sakura was perfectly still as she watched them all. "I'm more like the '_cloud_' spirit; I keep watch of their movements and such."

"Oh…." Sakura awed. "That's interesting…" She then said. Shikamaru nodded and looked at what Sai was drawing. "Wh-what are you drawing?" The pinkette asked after they all glanced at her before looking back. Sai looked up and cocked his head to the side before glancing back to the drawing. 'Is..he drawing me?' Sakura then thought.

"Done"

Sai held up the picture and showed Sakura. It was her. He drew her in a portrait sitting across from a table slightly looking to her left. He had drawn her when she was talking with Shikamaru. He was good. "That's lovely Sai…" Sakura complemented with a smile. "Thanks You….but why?"

"Well….I was wanting to draw something today." Sai started as he set the drawing down. "But I couldn't think of anything to draw, so Kiba thought about what I should draw." He pointed to the door and slightly smiled. "After a moment, he saw you outside the door and grabbed you so I could draw '_you_' instead of nothing"

Sakura nodded and looked at the door. "Well thank you…but I think I should get going to work." She slid across the seat and slid the door open. "I'll be seeing you guys later then." They all said bye and she did as well, before leaving. When she was out she grabbed her bag that she had dropped outside the door; or at least she thought she grabbed it.

The pinkette looked down and saw that her bag wasn't there. She had something to give the kitchen in there. She even had her regular clothes in there. "Oh no! This is bad…" Sakura muttered as she looked around. "The kitchen needs those things! And someone took it?!" She saw no one with the bag and grabbed her head in a panic. 'Calm down Sakura….maybe someone grabbed it and took it to the kitchen for you…'

Sakura started walking down the hall, turned left and walked into the kitchen. No bag in sight. She looked right, then left, but all she saw were workers and cooks doing their jobs. "E-Excuse me." She called to one of the frog men. He stopped his mixing and looked up to her. "Has anyone brought a bag in here?" She then asked him.

"A bag?" He asked. Sakura nodded and he set a hand on his chin to think. "I don't recall someone bringing in a bag." He then said. Sakura's world fell apart into pieces after that. That was an expensive outfit in the bag too. And the fact that she needed to get those things to the kitchen. Emi was counting on her.

'Damn it….'

Sakura turned around with a sigh and walked over to the table with the food trays. She took one and looked at the note. It was a guest room upstairs. 'Sad…' Sakura thought. 'This spirit is probably too big for the dining rooms' She took the tray and walked out of the kitchen. Then she walked down the hall and up the stairs.

When she arrived at the room, Sakura slid the door open and smiled. "I have what you ordered." She said. It looked like an octopus. One of its tentacles reached over and took the tray. "Enjoy." The pinkette then said with a bow. Then she hut the door and went to walk back to the kitchen, but something to her left caught her eyes.

Her green eyes looked over and saw her bag sitting in front of Naruto and Sasuke's room. 'Weird….' She thought as she walked over. An elevator to her right opened and people walked out; bumping into the on the way. "Oh…I'm sorry." Sakura muttered to them. They only told her that it was ok and she kept going.

When the pinkette arrived she looked around. The door was open but she saw nothing inside. She looked over her shoulder. There were more people then a few minutes ago. After sighing, Sakura looked at the bag again. But it was gone. Slightly confused she stood up straight and looked in the room. The bag was now on Naruto's bed.

Sakura walked in and grabbed the bag. "Got ya!" She said as she smiled. "You thought you could run from m—" The door slammed shut making her stop. The pinkette spun around and slightly gasped.

"Sasuke?"

* * *

"Tsunade?" Shizune asked after walking into her masters office. Tsunade looked over from the papers on her desk and raised a brow at her assistant. Shizune was looking over to a seat next to the fireplace. "Y-you do realize Naruto is sleeping on that chair…right?" She asked; looking at the blonde woman again.

Tsunade sighed and looked at Naruto. "Yeah…He's gotten sick again." She told her. "But, it's not as bad as last time. He was able to walk up here and sit down all by himself. He's been sleeping there for awhile, he just needs rest."

Shizune nodded. "Poor Naruto" She muttered. "I wonder why this keeps happening." She took a few papers from the pile she held and handed them to Tsunade. "I hope he feels better soon." She then said before the door opened. Both of them looked over and smiled. "Well hello there Daiki."

"Hi Shizune." The black haired boy muttered as he made his way over to Naruto. "Is boss still feeling sick?" He asked. Both women nodded and he sighed. Naruto was leaning back with his feet resting in the other chair and both his hands rested in between his chest and stomach.

"Yes." Tsunade muttered before looking at her papers again. "He's been up here sleeping in that chair for awhile now. He needed his rest….that's all." She smiled and kept writing on the paper.

Daiki frowned slightly and set a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Hey Boss?" He asked. After this, the blonde opened his eyes slightly. "I-I'm sorry for waking you but I needed help downstairs. If you're still not feeling well then I'll go." He went to walk away but Naruto set a hand on his shoulder; making him look back.

"It's alright Daiki." Naruto told him with a smile. "I actually feel much better." He smiled and got off the two chairs before stretching. "I'll help, come on." The two boys started walking out and Shizune smiled.

"That Kyuubi…."

"Yea…He's a miracle worker…."

* * *

She didn't know exactly what happened, but somehow, Sasuke had found a way to throw her against the wall. His eyes full with a lust….that only told her that it was fake. "Sasuke….are you going to have your way with me?" She asked with a slight grin. He squeezed her wrists and nodded.

"Now that you've gotten rid of Karin…." He started. "I can do what I want…when I want." He grinned and moved closer but she only looked away. "What's the matter?"

"You're only doing this…" Sakura started with a hard stare at the wall. "For your own selfish reasons!" She looked at him and kicked him away. After she did this, she walked over to the door and faced him. "I know you have a '_thing_' for me….but it's not love. I know it's not"

Sasuke grinned. "Not love eh?" He asked. Sakura nodded with a mean stare. She wasn't afraid of him. She never was. "Then tell me something Sakura…" The cook started. "What '_is_' love exactly?"

The pinkette's eyes slightly widened after he crossed his arms. "Love…." She started as she looked down to Naruto's bed. "Love is…" As she mumbled this she reflected on something in the past….

_{__"Here…eat this." Naruto held it out a small berry as she shook her head in fear. "You have to eat this kind of food or you'll disappear. Trust me." He got closer and set it on her lips. Sakura wouldn't open her mouth though. "It won't turn you into a pig I swear." Sakura glared at him for a moment. But when she saw that he was telling the truth, she let the berry slip in. "There. Now chew……." He rotated his hand as he watched her chew the small berry. "And swallow…." He then said as she swallowed. "See!" He smiled with closed eyes. "You're all better now." The blonde opened his eyes and held his hand out. "See for yourself!"}_

"Love….is…"

_{"If you completely forget it, you'll never find your way home." Naruto said. He looked forward and sighed. "I've tried everything to remember my name….but I can't seem to remember it." He then said._

"She took your name too?"

Naruto nodded and unwrapped what he had in his hand. They were rice balls. "I remember coming here when I was 6 but I don't remember what my name was or where I lived. I even remember trying to go back home when baa-Chan let me, but I couldn't find it." He took one of the rice balls and handed it to her. "Here, you must be hungry." Sakura nodded and took it. Then they both started eating as they looked at the sky. "I'm going to remember it someday. I know I will."}

"Love…"

_{The sludge from the stink spirit was starting to spray out and get on their faces. Emi lost her grip and fell, nearly making everyone else fall. Sakura almost lost her grip too but she kept it firm. Then a bike came out, making everyone blink in surprise. "Is that a bike?" Sakura asked. Then she felt someone else's hands take their place ahead of hers. She looked over her shoulder and blushed slightly. Naruto was right behind her.}_

"It's…."

_{"Noon. The river spirit gave me this gift" Sakura said as her hands started glowing green. "Maybe it will help." She then said. The pinkette reached out and set them over his stomach. His breathing got heavy and then his eyes shot open. "AAH!" Sakura yelped in surprise and pulled her hands back. Naruto looked at her right after that and barked before passing out again.}_

"Love…it's…"

_{__When Sakura looked outside, her face lit up like Christmas. "Noon!" She said happily as she ran outside. The 9 tailed fox she loved so dearly stood outside the door and looked very clean and healthy. Sakura grabbed his head and pulled it into a hug and the 9 tails wrapped around her as if giving her a hug back. "Noon…I'm so happy you're alive…" The pinkette mumbled into his skull.}_

"It's…."

_{"Naruto! That was my name Sakura! That was it!" Naruto yelled with sparkling blue eyes. "I remember everything now! I remember buying you that ice cream and I even remember pulling you out of the whirlpool!" _

_"I knew it was you! You saved me!" Sakura said back. "I hope you're not mad for me being the reason you're dead!" She then said._

_"I'd never be mad at you." Naruto said back to her. "If I hadn't of died…we wouldn't be here right now!"_

_"That sounded so weird!" Sakura yelled at him. "You're such a dork!"}_

"……….."

_{Sakura nodded, but before she took her eyes off him she walked back on the steps and gave him a small kiss before running off. "Thank You for saving me!" She then yelled as she ran across the rock river.}_

"……………."

{_When they got in the elevator, Sakura and Naruto waited for the doors to shut. As soon as they did Naruto tackled her in a hug; completely surprising the pink haired girl. "I missed you so much……" He muttered. She smiled and hugged back. _

_"I missed you too Naruto…" She said back to him. They kept the hug a little longer. "How have you been…." She then asked. _

_"Good…" The blonde responded. "But…things have been a bit quiet without you around….these past 6 years…" The doors opened and they both pulled away in an instant. Naruto whistled as he pulled the lever again as Sakura kicked the 'dirt' on the ground. Once they were closed they faced each other again with smiles._

"_You got so tall Naruto! How did you do it?" Sakura asked._

"_I don't know…I just grew" Naruto laughed. "You got taller too."_

"_But not as much as you did." Sakura laughed back. "I used to be taller then you."_

"_Well at least you didn't grow your hair out…" Naruto muttered. "I like your short hair better…"}_

"Love is…it's…."

_{__"Whoa whoa whoa!!" Kiba yelped as he turned around; making her yelp in surprise. "This kid died saving your life and you think he doesn't love you? You're crazy…" He huffed and turned back around while crossing his arms.}_

"It's….um…"

_{"Thank you Naruto." Sakura said. Then they went hand to hand and started dancing. "So….i heard you wanted to ask me…..but never did." She said to him after a moment. _

_"Well…yeah." Naruto said back with a slight blush. "I was a bit nervous and didn't know 'how' to ask you." He chuckled and looked away to glare at Sasuke who was now leaning on the stairs. "Man…I can't believe he did that…" He then muttered.}_

"……um…."

_{Sakura nodded, and they all worked together to move the blonde into his bed. "Should I keep healing?" She then asked. Iruka nodded and she did so. Sasuke then came in with a drink. 'Naruto….' Sakura thought as the blonde breathed heavily. 'What's happening to you?'}_

"………….."

_{"What?! No" Naruto said. Then he looked at Sakura. "She'd rather sleep with me right Sakura-Chan!" He asked. The two boys went back and forth asking her to lie down with them. She couldn't decide…they were both cute….but Naruto….she knew him longer. And Sasuke….well….he wasn't an idiot.}_

"Love is…."

_{Naruto opened his eyes and looked over to Sakura. She was still looking at the ocean with a relaxed face. "Like….bring the spirit back to life?" He asked. She nodded and he looked out again. He put his thinking face on and thought. "Actually….I think there is…." He muttered; making her look at him with a huge smile. "But….the only person capable of doing it….is Konan….and she needs a lot of things to prepare such a spell….I think."Sakura looked at the ocean again with a sigh. "Why?"}_

"………………."

_{A fox; the size of Akamaru, with nine tails charged down the hall with pure red eyes. Karin gasped as she was tackled down and dragged into a room down the hall. But as this happened, the finger's let go of Sakura and she started to descend down to the ocean. Her eyes shut; with the sight of Naruto tackling Karin down etched into her memory. It would be the last thing she saw, she knew it. She had 20 more feet to go._

_A see through door to her right flung open and made her eyes open again. She looked over and gasped as Naruto jumped out and grabbed her. The momentum of him going more to the left; pushed Sakura and him well…more to the left; barley missing the train tracks and landing in the water. When they both surfaced she noticed Naruto looking up; then he looked down with a smile. "You ok Sakura-Chan?"}_

"It's…."

_{Each girl nodded and quickly scampered to their beds. Then the pinkette glanced over to Naruto and lightly gasped. She hadn't realized what they were doing to him. He was giving her an emotionless stare as some of his hair was in small ponytails "Thank…You…" He muttered. She nodded and started taking the hair ties out. He might have thought she stopped them because of what they were doing, but she had only done it because of the flirting….}_

Sakura looked up after a moment of thought and gave him a small smile. "Love…can't really be explained." She told him. "It's…it's that special feeling you get around someone….that gentle spark that tells you. It's the memories you create with them. The joy, the laughter, the caring and love to one another….that's '_my_' definition to love and…" She trailed off and gave him a cold stare. "In my book….love…does not exist between you and I."

Sasuke returned the same cold glare. "Doesn't exist in between you and I?" He then asked. Sakura nodded and he slightly grinned. "Then…Where does it exist for you hmm?" He asked. The pinkette smiled warmly and opened her mouth to answer. The cook couldn't help but lean in a little.

"Love exists between…" Sakura trailed off as she looked up. She had been looking down since he had asked but her smile never faded. "Naruto and I." Sasuke's eyes widened as his roommate's name was said. Then after a moment, his eyes narrowed and showed her not a fake lust…but pure hatred and she knew…he was going to kill her.

"Oh no…"

* * *

"Have you seen Mei?" Emi asked as she stood in the hall. The person she had asked this only shook their head and she sighed. 'Damn…where the hell did she go?' The blonde then thought as she looked up and down the guest room hall. She glanced in the opposite direction of the eating hall and started walking. "Why does she always disappear—"

A door a little ahead slid open, and Sakura ran out as fast as she could. "Move out of the way!" She yelled as Sasuke ran out as well; his eyes red with complete anger. The cook charged through the workers as Sakura politely dodged them. He was really trying to kill her.

The elevator door opened and Daiki and Naruto stepped out. "So what did you need help with?" Naruto asked with a smile. The black haired boy turned to face him but stopped when a yelling pinkette ran by. "Huh? Was that Sakura-Chan?" Naruto then mumbled to himself. Then Sasuke ran by and shoved the blonde back into the elevator.

"BOSS!" Daiki yelped as Naruto smashed into the back wall of the elevator. "Boss you ok?" He asked as he held the doors opened. Naruto nodded and looked up with 1 eye shut.

"Damn that hurt…" He muttered. Then he stood up; a little weak at the knees and walked out. "What the hell is up with him?" The blonde then asked. Daiki shrugged and Emi was soon close by.

"Noon! I think Sasuke is trying to hurt her!"

Naruto looked at the other blonde with wide eyes. "Hurt…her?" He asked. Emi nodded and the fox boy bit his lip. He thought it was all over. But it wasn't. "Thank you Emi!" He yelled after running off. He wasn't going to let this happen. The last bit of the dark cloud was Sasuke after all….

* * *

Sakura heard lightning from behind her as she ran through the halls. She looked over her shoulder and saw that the Uchiha's hand was holding a ball of the stuff. Or at least it looked like a ball…he was holding it after all. 'Shit…shouldn't he be trying to kill Naruto?' She thought as he approached even faster. But then her eyes widened. No. She didn't want that! Why would she think that?!

Sasuke's lightning hand hit the ground to the left of Sakura; causing an explosion of wood and Sakura's scream. She flew out the side of the bathhouse and descended down to the water. When she hit the water, she immediately made her way to the train tracks. After climbing up, the pinkette glanced up to the bathhouse and saw something she'd thought she'd never see in her life.

2 giant hands rose from Sasuke's back taking the role of wings. He was really angry now. She had chosen the idiot over him. When he jumped and started to fly, Sakura's green eyes shrunk in a panic. Then she turned around and started running as fast as she could down the tracks.

When Naruto arrived to the small lightning sight, he looked out onto the ocean and saw Sasuke flying above the tracks and chasing Sakura. "Shit!" He slammed his hands together and the red substance from all the other dangerous moments surrounded his body before departing and making the form of a fox beside him. Then it took shape and looked at him. "Sasuke is out of control!" Naruto told it. "Let's go!" He and the fox both jumped outside and landed on the train tracks.

As soon as they were down there, Naruto jumped on the fox and rode on its back as it ran. "Get closer…" The blonde growled as he reached into his back pocket. Sasuke had escaped like this before, and now he was prepared. He took out a kunai knife and grinned. Ever since that day…he had been known as '_The Bathhouse Ninja._' "CLOSER!"

Sakura looked over her shoulder as she ran and she saw Naruto on top of the fox's back. Then her eyes widened. "So that's how he saved me back there!" She said as she looked forward again. He and the fox must have un-fused after all. She smiled and ran even faster. Naruto would save her….just like he always has.

"Naruto now!" Kyuubi hissed before jumping. As soon as he did, Naruto slammed his hands back together and the substance that the fox turned into surrounded his body once more. He landed on Sasuke's back and grinned as the cook yelled in pain. "Burns don't it?" The blonde yelped He started laughing as the raven haired boy descended. "I call it Chakra…you like!?" He slammed Sasuke into the train tacks; thus destroying it and Sakura turned around.

"Sakura-Chan!" Naruto called out to her. "Keep going! Don't stop until you reach Konan!" As soon as he was done saying this, Kyuubi appeared and ran over to her. "Ride Kyuubi all the way there!" Naruto then yelled as he and Sasuke started fighting. He threw the kunai and sliced Sasuke's cheek open before looking back over his shoulder. "GO!"

After flinching, Sakura nodded and jumped onto the fox's back. Then it took off at incredible speeds. "Whoa! You're fast!" The pinkette yelped as she wrapped her arms around the fox's neck. She shut her eyes as it ran. It was going to be awhile….and she only hopped Naruto wouldn't get hurt.

* * *

"Thank you Kakashi." Konan said after the grey haired scare crow handed her an herbal plant. She had been making tea because she knew a guest was on its way. She didn't exactly know who but her senses were telling her that there was someone coming. "Tobi set the table please." She then said as she pointed to the table.

The masked spirit nodded and started doing as he was told as the blue haired woman hummed. After mixing the ready tea, she walked over to the table and set the cups down. "There…" She said with a smile. "Now all we have to do is wait…" She glanced over to the door and frowned. "I hope they don't take too long…the tea might get cold."

Konan sat down and sighed before smiling at the door. The last time she had a visitor was 6 years ago when Sakura came along with the seal Naruto had stolen. She shut her eyes and waited for about 5 minutes, and then there was a knock at the door. "I'LL GET IT!" Konan happily said as she stood up. Of courses she was going to get it. She was the only one in there even thinking about going to go get it.

The blue haired woman put a smile on her face as she opened the door. Then when she saw who it was, her smile grew even more. "SAKURA!" She yelled happily as she hugged the pinkette tightly. "OH HOW I MISSED YOU!"

Sakura smiled and tried to hug the woman she called 'Aunt' back, but she couldn't exactly move….or breathe. "It…It's nice to see you too…Auntie Konan…" The pinkette finally got out. "Can you put me down?"

"Oh sorry!" Konan apologized as she set the younger woman down. "Now come in. I made some tea." She led Sakura in and shut the door. "So…what brings you here?"

* * *

"Do what?!" Tsunade asked as she stood up from beside her desk. Naruto had Kyuubi come to her as fast as he could and ask her for Sakura to be let home. "How do you know if she even '_wants_' to go home?" The blonde roared from behind the desk. The fox didn't respond. "You know what…" Tsunade then said after awhile. "I'll tell you what."The fox looked up as she walked around the desk over to him. "I'll give her a request when she gets back. How does that sound?" Tsunade asked with a smile.

"But…that has no sense…"

"Yes it does." Tsunade told the red haired fox. "If she wants to go home, she will request to go home, but…" She trailed off and looked at Shizune; who stood by the desk. "If she wants to stay, then she will request to stay here…it's a win/win." Kyuubi nodded and she led him over to the balcony. "Tell Naruto that he's got 24 hours to get her here. If they aren't here by then; I'm canceling the deal. Understand?"

Kyuubi nodded its head and then soon jumped off the building to make his way over to Naruto. During his time away, Naruto and Sasuke had moved up the tracks by a great amount of length. They were moving up it quite fast for two people who were fighting to what seemed like death. He had to tell Naruto so the blonde could hurry.

'Stupid Kit….'

* * *

"I see…" Konan muttered after Sakura's explanation. "Sasuke 'loves' you but you told him you love….Naruto…and he's now trying to kill you…." She nearly forgotten Naruto's name. She had just found it out.

"Yes exactly." Sakura told her after setting her tea down. "Now Naruto is risking his li—" She stopped when she remembered him telling her something important about spirits and their lives.

_{"Spirits 'can' get sick." Naruto had said. "But…What happened to me was the worst ever recorded in…let's say 'Spirit' history. It was really weird, though….And yea….Spirits can die again. Like dying as a human…you either go to Heaven or Hell…or if you're lucky you become a spirit. But when you 'are' a spirit….if you die…you disappear…you don't even get to be reborn or passed on to Heaven or Hell…..you just disappear…"}_

"No…I don't want him to disappear." Sakura said as she hugged herself. She could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks. Konan set her tea down and set a hand on her shoulder.

"Is there anything you want me to do?" The blue haired woman asked. "I am a witch after all….a may be able to help." She then said. Then Sakura sprung up in her seat. The conversation she had with the blonde that night, it was still there and they had talked about Konan…

_{"Is there….a way to turn a spirit back into a human?"_

_Naruto opened his eyes and looked over to Sakura. She was still looking at the ocean with a relaxed face. "Like….bring the spirit back to life?" He asked. She nodded and he looked out again. He put his thinking face on and thought. "Actually….I think there is…." He muttered; making her look at him with a huge smile. "But….the only person capable of doing it….is Konan….and she needs a lot of things to prepare such a spell….I think."}_

Sakura smiled. If Konan could turn Naruto back into a human, then he wouldn't disappear if anything happened, he'd just become a spirit again. "Konan!" She said as she stood up. She had been planning this from the night they talked about it. She wanted Naruto to be alive again….but not because of this. This was her only chance though. "I want you to turn Naruto back into a human!"

Konan gasped as she stood up. "A-are you crazy?!" She yelped at the smaller woman. "Performing such a technique will sacrifice a part of his body. In a situation like this, he'd surly lose." She pointed to a book on her counter. "Sakura I haven't tried it, but it says it in the book. _'A Body Part Will Be Sacrificed._'"

"Naruto is strong!" Sakura said with a smile. "He's very stubborn and I'm sure if I ask him, he'll be glad to say yes! I don't care if he ends up being a vegetable for the rest of his life because of it. I love him! And I will take care of him for the rest of our lives!"

Konan smiled at this. 'So she really does love him…' She then thought. As soon as her thought was finished, the door slammed open and Kakashi came running in. "What is it Kakashi?!" The blue haired woman asked as they both looked over.

"Naruto and Sasuke will be here in less then 30 minutes." The scare crow told them. "They are moving very quickly and it looks like Sasuke is on a mission to kill her." He pointed at Sakura and the pinkette slightly gasped. "Tobi and I will try to hold them back." He walked back out and Konan set a hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"Alright, ill start preparing it." The blue haired woman said with a smile. Sakura nodded and followed her over to the counter. She grabbed a cup and filled it with water before opening the book. She scrolled through it and soon came to the page with large letters at the bottom…

_A BODY PART WILL BE SACRIFICED!_

Sakura gulped and looked at Konan as she started putting different things in the cup. During this time she wondered what limb he would lose if he agreed to doing it. Thinking of each body part her mind started to drift into a perverted state. What she had thought of next turned her into the same color as her hair. She hit her head a couple of times to get the picture of Naruto losing his manhood out of her head.

"There…" Konan said; getting her attention. "It's all done, now all that needs to be done is Naruto drinking it and I need to perform the transfer…."

"Transfer?"

"The transfer back into the human state." Konan answered with a smile. "The drink alone won't do it. If it was only the drink then you could have done it yourself. I'm the only one that is able to perform it and will always be." She looked at the door and smiled. "When Naruto get's here, I'm going to drag him inside and let Tobi and Kakashi hold Sasuke off.

Sakura nodded and looked at the door as well. All they had to do is wait. The pinkette was excited though. But at the same time she was afraid. She only wished that he wouldn't end up losing a limb or…his manhood. Turning pink again, Sakura shook her head and thought about other things that could get lost.

20 minutes later, there was an explosion outside Konan's door. "Oh Hell no!" Konan screamed with a fist in the air. "If they mess up my garden Konan's kicking some spirit ass!" Sakura couldn't help but giggle at this as the blue haired witch made her way over to the door. When she opened it she gasped and held out her hand. It turned into paper and flew outside without any warning.

After a moment or two she gasped and shut the door with her hand back. "What happened?" Sakura asked. But then Naruto came crashing through the window; shattering the glass. The glass fell all over the floor as he hit the table, flipped it over and then hit the back wall with a loud crash; knocking over many things that sat on shelves. "Naruto!" Sakura called as she ran over.

"HOLD HIM BACK BOYS!" Konan yelled through the broken window. As soon as she yelled this, the two men started fighting Sasuke. Konan ran over to the counter and grabbed the cup. "Sakura ask him! The time is now or never!" Naruto blinked and looked at the blue haired witch confused.

"Ask me what?"

Sakura took a deep breath and helped him stand up. "Do you want to be human again?" She asked. Naruto's eyes widened as Konan walked over. He didn't answer. "Tell me Baka! Sakura then yelled as she hit his head. He then nodded while he rubbed his head. "Ok, but listen to me Naruto." The pinkette then said. "You will lose a body part for it…are you still up for it?"

Naruto looked at her for a moment and then glanced at Konan. He reached over and grabbed the cup. Then without saying anything else, he drank it. "Um…I'm guessing that's a yes…" The blue haired woman then muttered with a sigh. She walked in front of him and made a hand sign. "Ready Naruto?"

The blonde threw the cup on the ground and nodded. He didn't care what happened. He would still have Kyuubi, he knew it. Even if he didn't, Konan was a strong witch. Plus…It was the only way to be with Sakura. Especially in the way he wanted it to be…. "Go…" He muttered. Sakura made an upset looking face after Konan nodded and then looked away. He was actually going to do it. Did he hear her when she told him what would happen?

The witch nodded and continued her hand signs as the noise outside grew. Then without notice white hand like creatures flew out of a portal behind her. Sakura saw this and looked at the blonde to watch. They all grabbed him and slammed him against the wall. A light shade of white surrounded his body and he shut his eyes. Some made their way to his right arm and surrounded it. 'No!' Sakura thought. 'Their taking his arm….' She shut her eys as soon as Naruto's opened in pain.

It snapped

Sakura gasped as the blonde hit the ground. She wasn't looking. She didn't want to see anything. But then when she glanced over to Konan she noticed that the witch was slightly surprised. "What?" Sakura asked as she looked at the blonde again. The pinkette gasped.

Naruto still had his arm. He was holding it and It looked limp though. "It…only broke it." Konan said while cocking her head to the side. "Oh! Hold on don't move! I'll cast it up!" Konan yelped as she ran over. She knelt down and used her paper to start casting his broken arm.

"So…He's human now…." Sakura muttered in question. Naruto looked at Konan as well to get the answer. Then when konan stood up she nodded. "R-really?!" Sakura then asked in happiness. Konan nodded again and grabbed a piece of clothing from the coat rack.

"Naruto now has a soul…" She said. "A _'real_' heartbeat." Konan smiled and walked over with torn clothe. "You've come back from the dead Mr. Uzumaki." She then said as she wrapped it around his neck. Then she helped him set his arm inside and then stand. "So your going to be amongst the rest of us but as a human…and the good thing is that you get to keep every single piece of your body." She gave the boy a thumbs up and he chuckled.

But the laughter soon stopped after another explosion was sounded outside. Naruto narrowed his eyes. "KYUUBI!" He barked. Then the chakra left his body and formed into the fox. It nodded and ran over to the window.

"No! Go through the one that's already bro—" Konan tried to tell it, but it crashed through the other window and she sighed in sadness. "Damn it…"

"Sorry Konan." Naruto said with a nervous smile. Then he made his way over to the door and opened it. "It's gonna be hard with a broken arm but I can manage…." He shut the door behind him and Sakura looked at Konan in a panic.

"Don't worry Sakura." Konan said with a smile. "Just because he's human now doesn't mean he's weak." She pointed to the window and then made her way over to watch. Sakura did as well.

Sasuke glanced over to the blonde that stood by the witch's front door. He looked at every feature to find a weakness and then found the arm. "What happened to your arm dobe?" The cook asked with a grin. Since long ago had his wings disappeared. "Did you break it when you crashed through the window?"

"Nope…" Naruto muttered as he shook his head. He brought his left hand up and made a fist. "But even if it is broken…I'm still going to beat you. You tried to hurt Sakura-Chan…and for that you will pay." He took a fighting stance and the giant red fox was soon next to him. His arm hurt, but he was going to deal with it.

Sasuke grinned and ran over. He formed a katana from the lightning he had attacked Sakura with and swung it at the blonde. Naruto jumped up and landed behind the cook before using his right foot to kick the other boy in the back. Sasuke was smashed into Konan's door and turned around with a growl. He was losing to an idiot with blonde hair?! There was no way he was going to lose like that!

He held up to fingers together and grinned. Sakura saw this and raised a brow. What was he doing? Naruto was thinking the same thing. "As long as I can do this…." He growled. "I will still win!" Naruto raised a brow but then when he went to say something the sick feeling came back in an instant.

He felt weak to his knees and his face was flushed with fever. 'What's happening……' He thought as Sasuke munched him in the gut. He took a few steps back and looked up with tired and glassy eyes. It was almost worse then before. He could feel it getting worse as each second passed.

"Naruto!" Sakura called as the blonde was hit countless of times. Each time her pupils grew smaller and smaller in horror. "No! Hold on Naruto!" She then screamed as she jumped out of the window. Sasuke glanced over and saw her running over with a fist in the air. He grinned and moved out of the way. She almost hit Naruto.

The blonde hit the ground with his knees and blankly stared forward. "Sakura-Chan…." He mumbled as he felt his consciousness slipping. "I'm sorry….but he got me…" He slightly grinned before hitting the ground completely.

"No! Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she knelt down next to him. As she flipped him over, Konan ran out to fight as well. He had the same symptoms as the first time. Heavy breathing, and the fever flushed face. It was all there. Sakura set him back down and turned around to help fight. As soon as she did, there was an explosion of lightning and rock; launching towards the house. She shut her eyes and awaited the pain but was caught by Tobi.

"Thank you Tobi…" Sakura muttered as she jumped off his black belly. He nodded and she looked over to where the fight was. They were dangerously close to Naruto. Biting her lip, the pinkette ran in their direction. She jumped over Naruto and flung herself around Konan to land a side kick on Sasuke's face. The black haired boy was launched into Konan's home; making the witch sigh. How did she know that was coming?

After a moment, Sakura turned around and back over to the blonde, but on her way she noticed something on the ground. It looked like a seal. "What the he—"It exploded and launched the pinkette at the house, but this time Tobi could not reach her. She slammed into the wall and fell to the ground; quickly blacking out with Naruto being the last thing she saw.

* * *

Sakura slowly opened her eyes and looked around without moving her head. She was leaning on the house now. Someone must have leaned her up against it. She looked at the front yard of Konan's home and saw that or was completely destroyed; along with her small garden. Then she looked over to her right and gasped. Sasuke was wrapped in paper and was sitting next to her. He was looking forward and looked very angry. But at lease she thought he looked angry….she could only see his eyes.

Looking away from the upset black haired boy she found Konan sitting in the dirt with a book next to her. Sakura slowly got up and started walking over. A little fast after seeing that Naruto was lying in front of her. "Is he ok?" She asked as soon as she could. Konan looked up from her book and looked at the pinkette. Then she shook her head. "Y-you mean…he's…" She didn't have to finish the question.

"Well…not exactly…" Konan mumbled as she stood up. "But he's on the verge of death. If we don't do something…he's going to be dead again." She sighed and looked at Sasuke. "I found out from Sasuke that he had cursed the poor boy the first day they were roommates. And because of that curse he could make Naruto either barley sick…or deathly sick in an instant. This time was a deathly sick." She shook her head and looked at Sakura again. "Everything I've tried hasn't helped. If you can use those healing hands of yours….maybe it will help."

Sakura nodded and knelt down next to the blonde. She held her hands out and they started glowing green before she set them on his forehead. Konan knelt down beside her and wrote something in her book before walking away. The pinkette didn't seem to care much. "Naruto…please don't die." She muttered as she felt tears in her eyes. "I won't forgive you if you did." He did nothing. She could barely see if he was breathing or not.

"Please Naruto!" Sakura yelled. "Breath! Open your eyes! Do something!" She started to shake him slightly with her free hand. "You can't go! You might not be lucky this time!" She shut her eyes and let tears fall down her face. Then she looked over her shoulder and glared at Sasuke. The time when Naruto had become sick the first time….Sasuke was only acting like he didn't know.

She looked at Naruto again and smiled slightly. "You know Naruto…" She mumbled as she started using both hands again. "Everyone's been asking me who I loved a lot lately…" She trailed off and frowned. "I kept telling them that I didn't know who I loved. But when Sasuke asked what love even was…all I could think about were the moments we had together. Then I realized that I had been keeping my feelings for you aside; scared for no reason. But I do realize how much I love you Naruto. And now I'm afraid it's too late to tell you that."

"The stomach!"

Sakura looked over her shoulder and saw Konan standing by Sasuke. "Heal…the stomach?!" The pinkette then yelled back. The blue haired witch nodded and kicked the cook before Sakura looked at Naruto again. She took her right hand and rested it on the blonde's stomach before activating the healing again. Almost instantly Naruto sprung up and grabbed his mouth to cough. The pinkette gasped as he spit up something black and evil looking.

"Squish it!"

Taking Konan's orders, Sakura smashed it with her hand right before Naruto fell back. "Naruto?" The pinkette asked as she looked at him. He looked just fine now. "Thank Goodness…" Sakura mumbled with a sigh of relief. Sasuke's curse was lifted and he was still human. Everything turned out fine after all.

* * *

Naruto opened his eyes and noticed he was in a small room. He sat up and set his free hand on his forehead. He had a massive head ache. 'Damn….If only I could remember what happened…' He thought as he stepped off the bed. 'I have a broken arm…because I was brought back to life and then I went to fight Sasuke…but…what happened then…' He opened the slightly already opened door and peaked out.

Sakura, Konan, Kakashi and Tobi all sat at the table and were drinking tea. 'Looks like they cleaned the place up' Naruto mentally mumbled as he looked around the small house. Then he saw Sasuke. He mentally busted up laughing. 'He looks like a Christmas present wrapped with white paper!' He mentally laughed. Then his hand slipped and he came crashing down; making them all look at him. "I'm ok!" He then yelped as he stood up; his left hand high in the air.

They all giggled at this as he walked over, and then he sat down. "How are you feeling?" Konan asked with a gentle smile. Sakura asked the same thing and they both received a smile back.

"I feel great!" Naruto said. "But….I don't remember what happened after I started fighting Sasuke…" He then said with his left hand on his chin. "What happened? How did I end up waking up in Konan's bed?"

Both girls looked at each other and then him. Sakura was the one to speak. "You became very sick in the middle of the fight." The pinkette told him. "And the only reason was well….Sasuke had cursed you when he first became your roommate."

"SAY WHAT!?"

"Please sit down." Sakura said with a nervous smile. He nodded and sat down right after. "Don't worry Naruto…I lifted the curse so there's nothing to be worried about any longer." In almost an instant, the boy had become a chibi right next to her with a finger on his chin in wonder.

"Was it true love's kiss?"

"BAKA!" Sakura yelped as she hit the blonde in the head. He sat back in his chair and rubbed his head right after and sighed. "Well let's go…" She said as she stood up. "I got to get back to work…." She looked at Naruto; pretty much telling him to come along.

Then the blonde remembered that Kyuubi made a deal with Tsunade. He looked at Konan and ran over. "Konan! Can you teleport us there?" He asked in a slight panic. The blue haired witch nodded and he ran over to Sasuke. Sakura was now standing by Konan and they both watched the one armed blonde drag the cook over. "ok! Let's go!"

* * *

Tsunade had been waiting for a few hours now. Everyone was eager to watch what Sakura was going to request so they were all outside and watching just like 6 years ago when she had to pick out which pigs were her mother and father. Then in almost an instant, the group appeared at the other side of the bridge. They were a little high so they hit the ground hard; but came out laughing. "My bad!" Konan laughed.

"Sakura-Chan." Naruto said as he grabbed the pinkette by the arm. "I…I had Kyuubi ask her to let you go home and she said she'd give you a request." He told her. She raised a brow as they both stood up. "If you want to go home, ask to go home, but if you want to stay….ask to stay. I highly suggest that you stay though!"

Sakura laughed at this and nodded. "Ok…whatever you say Naruto." She mumbled before walking over to the bathhouse owner. She knew he couldn't leave this place to go live somewhere else. Even if he was human. He had no home and this place had been his home since he was 6. "I get a request right?" She asked after approaching the witch.

Tsunade nodded with a smile. "1 request only." She held up a finger. "You can request for anything, and I have to grant it." She then said. Sakura nodded and looked at the crowd of people watching then she sprung an idea.

"I request….for 2 more request."

Everyone gasped. "C-Can she do that?!" Naruto asked from the other side of the bridge. Konan nodded. Tsunade 'did' say it could be anything.

"Fine…Request granted." Tsunade growled with the snap of her fingers. "Next two then…" She was starting to get a little inpatient. Sakura was thinking about it too much.

"Alright…" The pinkette started. She looked at the crowd and smiled. "I '_Sakura Haruno_' would like '_Naruto Uzumaki'_…" She trailed off and pointed to the blonde. Everyone gasped as each name was said. Even Naruto. They all knew their names now. "And all the rest of the staff here…to have their real names back!" Everyone gasped again. Could she really do this?

Tsunade's brow twitched as she snapped her fingers. There was a small explosion from the top floor of the bathhouse and everyone looked. "That was all the scrolls getting the names changed at once!" The bathhouse owner yelled making everyone look again.

After looking back Emi stood up straight. "My name…I remember it…" She muttered. There was no smile at first, but then she smiled and looked at Daiki. "Daiki! My name's Ino!" She said happily.

"And my name is Konohamaru!" Daiki said back with a huge smile. People all over the bathhouse were yelling out their names in happiness. They all remembered and were happier then ever.

"My name's Choji."

Ino and Konohamaru looked over and saw the chubby boy that she had always teased with roasted newts. Ino smiled and tackled her friend in happiness. They all had their names back and they were never going to forget again. "Alright…2nd request…" Tsunade growled as Sakura smiled at all the happy people.

The pinkette nodded and looked at her. "And…for my 3nd request…." She started; getting everyone's attention again. Sasuke was staring at the dirty road and could see a thing, and another thing was that Konan was sitting on him like he was a chair. "I request that you are relieved of power over the bathhouse and the new owner shall be Naruto."

Everyone gasped again. Naruto did as well. His mouth was wide open as Konan smiled behind him; trying to keep the angry Uchiha calm. Tsunade gawked at Shizune and her assistant only shrugged. "Fine! Naruto you are now the manager of the bathhouse!" The blonde yelped as a scroll appeared next to her. She grabbed it and tore it up. Apparently it was Naruto's. "I'll give you the deed later."

Sakura smiled and then turned around. Naruto couldn't believe what was happening. He ran over to the cheery blossom girl and stopped her. "Sakura-Chan!" He yelped. "I told you to ask to leav—" She held a finger up to his lips and winked.

"I still have 2 requests from you Naruto-kun" Sakura said; making him nod. Everyone turned their attention to them immediately. 'God….they all have bat ears…' Sakura thought with a roll of her eyes. "Naruto my first request is that you make me co-manager." She said. He went to gasp but everyone else over gasped him. He nodded and everyone started cheering.

"Sakura-Chan…" Naruto started. "Why…Why won't you go home?" He then asked. He kept telling her to go, but she wouldn't. It could get even more dangerous.

"You haven't let me request my 2nd one yet." Sakura said. He smiled and nodded for her 2nd. No one was listening this time; they were all still cheering in the back ground. "Naruto….for my 2nd request from you…" She leaned in a little. "I want you….to love me back." She looked up into his blue eyes and smiled at his face. It was shocked.

After a moment, the blonde's eyes softened and he smiled. "Sakura-Chan…" He started as he set his left hand under her chin. "That request was granted 6 years ago," He then said. Sakura smiled and kissed him as soon as she had the chance. '_Now_' people were looking.

"WHOO! GO MEI—I MEAN SAKURA!" Ino yelled with her fist in the air. People started clapping along with each other. Naruto finally kissed her again….But this time it was more then a swift peck that only lasted 2 seconds. It was a '_real_' kiss and this one lasted nearly a minute to him. But to everyone else…it was 10 seconds.

When they parted Sakura gave him a wink. "So can the co-manager give out her first new rule?" She asked. Naruto blinked as he looked at her beautiful face. He already missed her lips. Then he nodded; making her smile and go out to the middle of the bridge. She held up a finger. "I have a few things to say!" She yelled.

Everyone looked over and were ready to listen. "1st thing's 1st: Naruto has become human again but is still the same old Naruto. You guys don't need to act different." They all slightly gasped after hearing he was human. "2nd..I'm going to be in charge of rules and such!" They all nodded and she set her hands down. "Now….1st rule!" She yelled before throwing both her hands in the air again.

"From this day forward! The bathhouse will be open for both Spirit's '_and_' humans!"

Everyone gasped once again and Konan tried hard to keep Sasuke put. Even Naruto; who had been melted into the side post of the bridge the last 30 seconds. "Sakura-Chan…what are you doing?" He asked as she walked back over.

"Think of it his way…" The pinkette mumbled as she took his left hand in hers. "One day…your parents could stumble in this place to relax and you could see them again." His eyes slightly widened and he smiled before she went on. "Plus, I want you to meet my mom and dad. They'd probably faint if they saw you." She laughed and he did as well. "So let's go!"

Sakura pulled him away from the noisy bathhouse and dragged him through the small village. She was on a mission. 'Thank goodness mom and dad don't live far from this place…' She thought with a smile. Naruto was smiling the whole way. And then when they got to the field and started to cross it…he never felt so happy in his life. He was actually leaving.

They ran through the tunnel and found the dirt road where Sakura had said her last good bye 6 years ago. After smiling, the pinkette and the blonde kept going. He couldn't help but look at all his surroundings. The outside world was so beautiful with trees. Well that's what he thought before they reached the asphalt. Sakura had stopped and was staring at a distant crossroad with wide eyes. "Um…Sakura-Chan?" Naruto asked as he swung his hand in front of her face. Then he looked over and gasped.

Her truck was in the same place as where she had left it and was covered in seaweed and was a little rusty. "Oh…my….god." Sakura muttered as she started walking over to it; dragging Naruto along with her. The pinkette opened the passenger door and water spilled out; making the blonde chuckle slightly. She glanced inside and saw a dead fish on the seat. "Why did this happen?" She then asked as she slammed the door shut. She grabbed Naruto's arm and dragged him up the hill. The question wasn't meant to be answered.

When they both arrived at the small neighborhood, Sakura could see her old home at the end of the road. She smiled as if her truck incident never happened and started running; dragging the blonde with her of course. When they arrived at the blue house a football flew passed them both; making them look over. The children from ext door that Sakura loved to joke with.

"Hey Sakura-San!" The boy called with a giant smile. "Who's that?! Your boyfriend?!" He held up his pinky finger with an evil smile and was surprised that she had nodded back. "Really?" He asked. She always yelled at them if they said that about the boy she was with….this time was different.

"Aww…they're so cute…" Naruto muttered as they both walked over to the door. "I want them…" He tired to go play with them but Sakura had a hold on his good arm. He then sighed and waited as she knocked on the door.

When the door opened, Mrs. Haruno smiled but stopped when she saw Naruto. "Mother…." Sakura mumbled as she held out a hand to the blonde. "I'd like you to meet Naruto." The sound of his name did it. Her mother passed out; making them both laugh.

"Do you believe me now?"

END

* * *

**Stay Tuned for an Epilogue^^**


	7. Epilogue

**Hey! I'm back! And i have an Epilogue for you all. It's a quick summary of what happened to everyone and also just a continued chapter of the story...pretty much. So yeah sorry i took a while to get this up and everything but i kept forgetting. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

A small black car pulled up and parked in front of what seemed like an old rusted up white truck on the side of the road. The driver's door opened and a young woman with long black hair stepped out. As she shut the door, she took her glasses off and looked at the truck before her. Then she sighed as she began to walk. Careful of on-coming traffic, she walked over to the truck's driver's door and peered inside. There were small puddles on the seats and floor and everything seemed to be ruined from being wet too long. She immediately knew who's truck it was once she recognized the belongings inside.

'Geez…what happened' She thought. Then with a sigh, she walked back over to her car and stood by the driver's door before taking her cell out of her purse. As she speed dialed a number and held it up to her ear she noticed a blond man by a dirt road trying to set up a sign. His right arm was broken and was being held up in a sling or brace – whatever you'd like to call it. She leaned over while the phone rang and read the sign.

**'Spirit's Spa and Festival:**

**A soothing bathhouse for both Spirits and Humans**

**And**

**A field and Festival for family picnics and more**

**All Welcome'**

As her brow raised and the young man struggled, her phone call went to an answering machine to signify the trucks owner not being able to pick up the phone.

"This is Sakura. I can't get to my phone right now so…well, you know what to do'

Hinata sighed and waited for the beep. When it was sounded, she spoke. "Sakura…hey." She said. "It's Hinata…I found your truck sitting on the side of the road." She paused when the sound of the sign falling was heard. She glanced over to the frustrated blond before moving on. "Mind calling me back and telling me what happened? You've been gone for weeks…" She watched the blond pick the sign up with one hand "Ok…call back soon"

Hinata shut her phone and set it back in her purse. Then she made her way over to the blond man with the broken arm. She hesitated at first; being the shy woman she was but soon got her wits. "E-Excuse me…" She said as he looked over. He set the sign down and backed up slightly; as if he wasn't used to being around other people. Hinata smiled and waved her hand to call him back over, and then pointed over to the sign. "D-do you need any help?" She then asked. "You seem to be having a b-bit of trouble"

"Oh…" The blonde man sighed. Then he looked up with sapphire eyes and nodded. "Yes of course" He then said. Hinata smiled back and made her way over to the sign, as well as he did. "Um…thanks…" He said as she lifted it up.

"Y-You're welcome" Hinata shyly said back as he picked up one of the wooden posts. "What kind of bathhouse owner would send a crippled guy o-out here to so this kind of work?" She then asked; mostly to start a conversation as he set the post up below the sign. He let out a sigh and then a small chuckle; making her raise a brow. "What?" She asked. "I feel that it's wrong to s-send a young man with a broken arm to put up a sign…Who is it that is your b-boss?"

"My fiancée"

"Oh…" Hinata now held the right side of the sigh as he took another wooden post. "B-but why would you fiancée make you do this?" She then asked; completely appalled and confused.

"She didn't" He answered. Hinata raised her brow once again. "I volunteered." He then said as the wood fell to the ground. "Damn wood…" He sighed and reached down to take it and stand it back up.

"Hey! I'll take it from here Noon!"

"Ino…" The blond man apparently known as Noon muttered as he glanced over his shoulder and up the dirt road. "I don't go by that name anymore remember?" He then said to the blonde woman walking down the dirt road. Hinata looked over as well and saw that she had long blonde hair and clear crystal blue eyes.

"Oh right right" She muttered as she stopped in front of him. "I keep forgetting. Sorry" She then said. The blond man now known as Naruto nodded to her and then stood up straight. After he did this, Ino walked over and grabbed the sign. "Thanks for helping Naruto, but I got it now" She told her.

Hinata nodded and let go of the sign. Then as Naruto turned to walk up the dirt road, she remembered. "Hold on please" she called out; making him stop and looked over his shoulder. "Y-your name. It's Naruto?" She asked. He nodded and she smiled. "Naruto really? Th-then that means you know Sakura right?" He nodded again with a large smile. At first Sakura didn't tell her about Naruto. But after she kept nagging about the whole _'I'm taken'_ thing, Sakura finally did.

"Of course I know Sakura-Chan" Naruto said as he laughed slightly. "Why?" He then asked as he set his free hand down from scratching the back of his head. "You a friend of hers?"

"Yes" Hinata answered. "Do y-you mind telling me where she is?" She then asked. It had been a long time since Sakura left the café. When she did she only mentioned leaving for about a day or two. But she ended up being gone for nearly a month. "If you know…that is…"

"Well yeah" Naruto said to her. "She's up at the bathhouse" He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Come on. I'll take you to her if you want to see her" Hinata nodded and he turned around to walk up the dirt road. "She shouldn't be too busy…"

"Sakura told m-me many stories" Hinata said; making him look over his shoulder as he walked. "It took her awhile to mention you but when she did she said a lot of good things. You're a fox spirit that was human once. A-And you died saving her from drowning right?" She noticed him give her a nod. "Y-you know…she really likes you. How does she feel about the whole…you having a fiancée thing?"

"Um…well she's excited…I guess"

"Huh?"

"Well why wouldn't she be?" Naruto asked. "I mean…she's my fiancée…" He then said. The news made Hinata's eyes widen in surprise as they approached an old building. They entered and he turned around to walk backwards. "Oh…and by the way" he started. "I'm not a spirit anymore." He pointed to his broken arm and smiled. "I lost my arm because I was turned into a human about two weeks ago" He told her. "It was the only way I could be with Sakura-Chan in the way I wanted…" He blushed fiercely and turned around to keep leading the way. "Oh and by the way…I'm the bathhouse owner"

"Oh!" Hinata gasped. "That's weird…s-sorry…"

"It's alright…"

They walked through a beautiful grass field that Hinata simply fell in love with. It was a beautiful sight. There were very few small groups of people picnicking here and there. Naruto mentioned that they weren't very popular yet so there weren't many customers. But they were popular with spirits, which Hinata believed in even more as she walked through the small village. Black spirits were behind counters severing food to people who seemed to not even care what they were. A spiritual place – people would call it. That's what Naruto told her. So they didn't care.

Soon they came up to a large building that Hinata immediately recognized as the bathhouse. When they crossed the bridge, she looked over the edge and saw a train go by at the bottom of a trench. Her view was interrupted as a few people walked by; blocking her view. "This place," Naruto started as he lifted the cloth at the entrance. "Serves human by day and spirit's by night." He finished telling her this as she entered as well.

As soon as they were inside a boy with black hair walked by after speaking to the pinkette by a podium. She looked up and smiled at Naruto but when her eyes caught on to Hinata she gasped in surprise. "Hinata!" Sakura yelled as she ran over in her uniform. She hugged her friend tightly and Hinata hugged back. When she pulled away she shook her head still smiling. "Hinata why are you here?" She asked. "Was there anything you want—"

"You never came back to work"

"Oh…" Sakura dropped her hands and sighed. "Sorry Hinata I…" She trialed off and looked at her fiancé. "I've been busy with this job and all…you know…I really needed to see Naruto too and...Well I ended up becoming the co-manager…" She laughed slightly and then went to say some more but Hinata beat her to it.

"Well it doesn't matter much anymore" Hinata said. "Because I quit"

"You did what?!"

"I did" Hinata answered. "I was tired of the place" She then said. Just as she explained her problem to Sakura, Naruto noticed one of the spirits that were still up and running. Kiba; the dog spirit. He was on his way over. Even if they served humans during the day, Kiba was always up to take a bath anyway. He smiled and shook the dog spirits hand before both looking at the girls again. "So pretty much…I've been needing a job for awhile now. And I'm still looking"

"Why not work here"

Both girls looked at Naruto and Sakura smiled. "That's a great idea Naruto" She said to him. He let out a proud smile as she looked at Hinata again. "You can work here Hinata" She said to her. "This place is great once you get to know the people" She pointed to Kiba. "Take Kiba here for instance. He's the dog spirit. You can help him for about a month or so and get to know him along with the other workers. If that's ok?"

"That actually sounds good" Hinata said. Sakura and Naruto smiled as she said this. Only Kiba stared with a strange love struck smile. "I'll take the job. Anything but being a waitress at an old café." She and Sakura laughed before Kiba put an arm around the timid girls shoulders.

"Great then!" He barked. "Then that means you'll be my care-taker for awhile huh?" Hinata shyly nodded and he began to walk. "Well then Miss. Hinata. Let me show you around. I know this place like the back of my dog's paw"

Sakura giggled as Hinata and Kiba disappeared around the corner. Then she looked at Naruto. "So, did Ino take over?" She asked. "I asked her to go and help because I knew you'd have trouble with your arm being broken and all."

"Meh…I could have handled it" Naruto said as she walked over to grab his black T-shirt. "Beside's…Hinata was helping me" He then said as she slowly pulled him down for a peck on the lips. "She just like…came up to me and asked to help. But I could have done it without her too!"

"I'm sure you could have…" Sakura mumbled before kissing him again. He rolled his eye and pulled away; mumbling something about Hinata's paper work now that she worked there and walked up stairs to go to his new office. She blew him a kiss goodbye and walked back over to the podium with a smile. She glanced over to the paper and when she looked up she saw two new people come in. A couple most likely. "Hi there. May I help you?"

The woman with the long red hair let out a smile that seemed almost like she was seeing a long time friend after many years. The man with her had the same bright blonde mop of spiky hair as Naruto had and he seemed to be smiling at her the same way. "Sakura Haruno…right?" He asked; walking over. Sakura nodded as the red-headed woman walked over as well. "Hello there again Sakura." He then said; setting a hand on the woman's shoulders. Sakura raised a brow and tilted her head to the side slightly.

"I'm sorry…" She mumbled. "Do I know you?"

"You probably don't remember us" The woman answered. She looked at what Sakura guessed was her husband and then back to her. "This here is my husband Minato Namikaze, and I am Kushina. I actually was once an Uzumaki" Sakura's eyes widened. Now she knew who these two were. They were Naruto's parents. She was right. They actually stumbled in one day. They actually came. "We're here because we ran into your mother and father yesterday" Kushina continued. "They spoke about you working here and also said that our son…" She trailed off as she felt tears coming to her eyes.

"Is here and alive"

It was Minato who finished for his wife and Sakura nodded. "Yes. Yes he is" She told them. Kushina began to cry in happiness as Minato let out a sigh of relief. "And actually…Naruto and I…we were planning on getting married sometime next year—"

"Really?!" Kushina asked in excitement. She looked at her husband and brought her hands up close to her face "My baby's alive!" She said to him loud and happily. "And he's getting married!" Minato let out a small laugh as Kushina hugged and cried on him.

"Can we speak to him?"

"Of course" Sakura answered with a smile. "I'll get him" She then told them as she walked over to a phone on a small table. She picked it up and dialed a number before holding it up to her ear to wait. Kushina kept rubbing her face in her husband's chest as Sakura waited. Then finally both parents of the former fox spirit looked over when the pinkette spoke. "Thanks hunny" She finally said into it before hanging up. When she turned around, she gave the couple a smile just before her fiancé slid down the hand railing. When he stopped, his face was still facing her and he smiled. Kushina nearly passed out.

"What is it Sakura-Chan?"

Sakura looked at him with a smile before looking and pointing to both his parents. He looked over and blinked at first. But when he recognized them, he flung himself off the hand railing of the stairs and quickly bowed. "What are you bowing for?" Sakura asked; setting a hand on his back. Once again, Kushina nearly passed out – but this time it was because she saw that his arm was broken. "Why don't you guys go have a talk or something?"

Naruto looked up immediately after she said this and nodded. Then he walked over to his parents; only to get attacked by a hug from his mother. He barely remembered them but he remembered her hugs as well as he remembered his hair color. Sakura smiled as she watched the man she loved catch up with his parents. They sat across from each other asking each other questions and she heard Kushina ask about the arm once. And even Minato asked about how he was lucky enough to meet Sakura again after all those years.

They talked for hours. They talked about what happened after Naruto…well…died, and they talked about how Kushina promised herself no more children no matter what. Minato mentioned going along with the promise but also was very sad about the whole…needing to be _'careful'_ during those passionate times. He mentioned hating it before he got used to it. Sakura's parents came in for their second time since it opened to humans and they were able to speak to Kushina and Minato as well. They had talked to them just a day before but Sakura guessed that parents spoke with each other when ever.

"Sakura-Chan" Naruto said as he walked up to the pinkette at the podium. She was writing something down on a piece of paper. Desperate for her attention and wearing a smile, he leaned in a little and stuck his face right in hers. She glanced over in the corner of her eyes. "Hey…Sakura-Chan, guess what…"

"What?"

"They're letting me keep my last name Uzumaki" He told her happily. She set the pen down and looked at him fully. "So that means you're still the future Mrs. Uzumaki." He let out a chuckle as he rubbed the bottom of his nose with his free hand. "I really like that name…don't you?"

"Yeah" Sakura answered. "I do like Uzumaki better." She then said before giving him a kiss. When she pulled away, she kept her arms wrapped around his waist and smiled up at his whiskered face "So how long did they say they were gunna stay?"

The blond looked in the upper right corner of the room to think; putting on that silly thinking face he always wore when he did so. "They said about…a week or so." He told her as he looked back down. "They still need to work and stuff. They promised me, though, that they'd come visit often. They even said they'd be at the wedding"

"Well of course they will be" Sakura told him with a small laugh. She then kissed him again and with one hand, reached over to the podium and wrote one more thing down. "Come on. The day shift is about to end. Do you wanna get some sleep or do you want to work night too?"

"Well I didn't really work…" Naruto mumbled as he pointed over his shoulder. "You know…mom and dad…" He then said. "I talked to them all day, but…I'm still tired of course" He only said the last part because Sakura raised her brow; telling him that she was tired and even if he wasn't _'they'_ were going to bed. "Yeah ok…let's go" He threw his good arm around her shoulders and they both started up the stairs. "Get my parents a room please" He then said to one of the frog men that had woken up for their shift. When he said it, he pointed to the two Namikaze's at the bottom of the stairs and the man nodded.

As they walked, Sakura peeked into a room. A few spirits were being handed their food by a now completely mutual Sasuke. Konan put him threw some kind of therapy that involved talking with his older brother who had died before him. Somehow it traumatized Sasuke so badly that the boy became a mute and rarely showed emotion. And speaking of emotion: Sai had finally smiled fully for the first time the week before. Ino was doing a great job on helping him with understanding friendship, teamwork, and love.

Sakura was happy about what she did to that place. It was almost hard to believe how different it was when she first went there. The spirits were mean and crude. They didn't have their real names. Naruto was…well he was exactly the same just taller and with less baby fat still hanging around. Karin never showed her face around there again and Tsunade and Shizune worked in the bath house still. Shizune volunteered to be Naruto's assistant but Tsunade wanted to be downstairs and hang around to be the second Forman. She even found out about the other Forman's little _'secret'_. The book he was writing.

Sakura laughed. Now that Naruto's parents were around, there wasn't going to be anything the same when it came to her fiancé. She knew he'd probably hang around them a lot more then her now but she knew it was only because he hadn't seen them since well…he died. But now none of that really mattered. The bathhouse wasn't dangerous any longer with Sasuke being all unemotional and mute. It all made her think about what would have happened if she Sasuke hadn't of done that bad deed. She even wondered about what she would have down without Naruto. And now that every time she and Naruto went to sleep, she'd hold him tight and think about what her life would have been like if she and her parents…never took that wrong turn….


End file.
